About Renald Gallis,
Graphic Novel Author
I started drawing from an early age and did the French Beaux Arts for ten years, with a first focus on oil painting and aquarelle. During my teenage years, I discovered Largo Winch by Philippe Francq , XIII by William Vance, and especially Jonathan by Cosey. They were my first source of inspiration to draw realistic characters in the pure French-Belgium style.
Born French but now living in Australia for the past 28 years, I consider myself a mix of both cultures, even though graphic novels are more a part of the French (Bandes dessinées in French) than the Australian culture.
As a hobby for 50 years, I finally decided to make my first graphic novel at the age of 57, after finishing the Ultra trail “La Diagonale des Fous”. In fact, it is during the 55 gruelling hours on my own, sometimes hallucinating, that I built the script of the first volume, hour after hour. That race was proof that at any age, with the right fuel and the right mindset, the impossible remains within reach. You just have to be a little bit wild to chase it. That’s why I decided to make not just one volume but a hexalogy, a series of six connected graphic novels.
The Set-up
Two MacBook Pro with large screens. One with a Wacom tablet to draw digitally on Photoshop and set up the characters with the backgrounds. One with PowerPoint to build the pages with the drawing and adding the panels (the framed drawing), gutter (the space between panels), and speech bubbles (which hold dialogue).
A passion
for Ultra-trail running
Not many people can say they discovered their life’s passion at 50.
Eight years ago, at the age of 50, I stood at the starting line of my first 50km, the UTA (Ultra-Trail Australia), carrying the nervous energy of a complete novice. Thirty kilometres in, injury struck. For the next 20 kilometres, I limped through pain that would have sent most first-timers to the medical tent. Instead, I discovered something profound: the intersection of suffering and transcendence that defines ultra trail running. “No pain, no gain” isn’t just a motto for me, it’s a philosophy forged in those agonising final kilometres.
Now, after countless training miles through Sydney’s coastal cliffs and the Blue Mountains’ rugged terrain, and hard-earned lessons about respecting my body’s limits, I faced the ultimate test: The Grand Raid on Réunion Island wasn’t just another race. It’s a 180-kilometre volcanic crucible with 10,500 meters of ascent, roughly the elevation gain of summiting Mount Everest from sea level. It’s a race that chews up experienced ultra runners and spits them out. It’s a race that lives up to its nickname, “La Diagonale des Fous” meaning “The Island’s crossing for the Crazies”.
And that’s where it all started for my second passion: Graphic novel scripting and drawing.
The Reason
At its core, The Long Run Home asks a simple, universal question: what are we running toward when we can no longer run away? The answer is neither heroic nor definitive. It lies in a step, a breath, a renewed presence.
This graphic novel series is intended for an adult readership drawn to stories of transformation, inner as well as outer journeys, and narratives where adventure is not about conquest, but about listening to the body, to others, and to the world we move through.
Hope you will enjoy the graphic novels as much as I did creating them.
Special thanks to Samuel Fabien, aka graphic novel artist pseudonym: Samiel Gribouille, for his support, his knowledge and his ideas. He is also the reason I dared to make this graphic novel series.
