Graham Johnstone

Yesterday, on another regional race - a not so easy 5K trail run, I got my first sub-24 minute time.

What a week! I never expected to run as long and fast, and to love it! It’s a far-fetched plot development!

3/3

Last week in a regional race, I did my first fully trail run at one of Britain’s toughest parkruns finishing 5 minutes faster than the (all ages) course average.

On Saturday, I ran my first 10K (in a downpour!). My target was 55 minutes, and I came just seconds over 50 minutes.

2/3

BIO UPDATE: artist, writer, and now… RUNNER?!

In January 2025, juggling health concerns, I completed the NHS/BBC Couch to 5K programme, and my first official parkrun.

With the tidiness of fiction, the sixth ‘monthiversary’ included some running milestones:

1/3

As if anyone is surprised by this... ?

#taesupwiafifer #jamesyorkston #pictishtrail #kttunstall #scottishborders #peebles #writerslife #artistsdayout

'Tae Sup Wi' A Fifer' 2025. Photo of James Yorkston, with Pictish Trail, and K.T. Tunstall onstage at Eastgate Theatre, Peebles, Scotland.

'Tae Sup Wi' A Fifer' 2025.

Great gig MC'd by James Yorkston, with Pictish Trail, and yes, that is the very modest K.T. Tunstall on backing vocals and percussion, as well as her own set. Great banter and never to be repeated cover versions including a show-stopping Psycho Killer.

YouTube video by Lou Reed - Topic Strawman (2020 Remaster)

youtu.be/J7-9jA6BW8o?...

Screenshot of lyrics to Lou Reed's song 'Strawman'.

Lou Reed's song Strawman (1989) could be about 2025 and Elon Musk:

"We who have so much to you who have so little
To you who don't have anything at all...
...
Does anyone really need a billion dollar rocket?
Does anyone need a $60,000 car?
Does anyone need another president?... "
#elonmusk

Nice! Yes, I am. Is it online somewhere?

Interior pages

Reynolds’ art perfectly captures this flickering, intangible, dreamworld... "

One story, ostensibly about a visit to a friend’s farm, sees incongruous elements building a sense of dread that’s symbolically mirrored in domestic details . Using understatement, omission, compression, misdirection, and telling details, it’s a masterclass in storytelling.

#bandedessinée #comicstrip #indiecomics #alternativecomics #stripboeken #stripboek #graphicnovel #comics #bookstagram #coverart #graphicnovelreview #bookreviewer #coverart #fantagraphics #graphicnovelist #newyorkreviewcomics #mauretaniacomics #chrisreynolds #thenewworld

Cover of The New World - Comics from Mauretania.

My review of this graphic novel masterpiece: "This 'Mauretania' is not an African country, but Chris Reynolds 'darker world'...

Macro-narratives like an apparent invasion of earth, are glimpsed as the backdrop to human micro-narratives.

Full review at theslingsandarrows.com/the-new-worl...

Musk saluting is projected onto the left of the building at night. He is underneath the words in huge letters at the top which now read HEIL TESLA

This is what the Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin looked like last night.

Elon Musk & his Hitler salute was projected onto the building alongside the word “Heil”.

Organised by the two campaign groups @ledbydonkeys.org & @politicalbeauty.bsky.social

Why waste work time getting to a gym and back?! I've started running.

I've completed the NHS/BBC 'Couch to 5K' programme and run my first official 5K 'park run'. Real buzz afterwards.

I'm already above average for my 'category', and confident of getting faster.

Quests typically involve exploration of new places and cultures, but David never leaves Paris, travelling mostly between bookshops. In quest terms, the booksellers are guardians of knowledge, through books offered, stories told, and secret back rooms, ushering the quest into the realms of stories.

This quest’s ‘holy grail’ is the 1829 first issue of ‘Incidents in the Night’.

"Incidents in the Night is a book by David B, about ‘David B’ finding a book, called ‘Incidents in the Night’. ‘David’ first dreams about the book, triggering a quest for copies and the stories behind them. The quest supposedly begins after he wakes, yet retains the quality of a dream.

I've reviewed David B's wonderful graphic novel 'Incidents in the Night' - a secret shaggy dog history of Paris and France, and a visionary love-letter to literature.

theslingsandarrows.com/incidents-in...

Haha! Haggis does divide opinions. The item in that picture is news to me.

Wonderful, sublime band.

I read elsewhere that this has been accused of being AI generated. However, Hewlett is indeed that good.

Thanks Iestyn!

#corinnepearlman #katecharlesworth #myfanwytristram #literaryagent #graphicnovel #bandedessinee #independentcomics #francisbacon #artist #graphicnovelist #glasgowschoolofart #djcad #universityofglasgow

I join their author list alongside graphic novelists Kate Charlesworth and Myfanwy Tristram, and impressive figures from the wider literary and intellectual world. 3/3

Corinne is the founder of the First Graphic Novel Competition @firstgraphicnovel, and has been publisher and editor of some excellent graphic novels by the likes of Gareth Brookes, Darryl Cunningham, and Woodrow Phoenix.
2/3

I’m pleased to report that I am now represented for publishing rights by @corinnepearlman at Pearlman and Lacey.

I’m delighted to have Corinne representing me, and providing her expert editorial input to my Francis Bacon graphic novel, and possibly other works in progress. 1/3
#graphicnovel

Lydia Davis! Brilliant writer! I have the paperback with that same cover.

Last year, reading in kids hit crisis point - but 2 in 5 told us that they read graphic novels or comics at least once a month.

Hey comics peeps: this is huge from the National Literacy Trust - reading is at an all time low among children… except #comics, and kids who read comics are more likely to enjoy reading in general.

The full report from the NLT is at literacytrust.org.uk/research-ser....