Jonah & the Worm: John Mark Has a Strange Idea.
Shownotes
Help bring JONAH & THE WORM to life. Support the first artwork and pages of my graphic novel, and help us rediscover the strange, complex, and untamed beauty of ancient Scripture.
https://www.prospect.art/artists/john-mark-mcmillan/jonah-graphic-novel
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What if the part of Jonah’s story we usually leave out is the whole point? Beyond the great fish is a prophet furious at God’s mercy, a violent empire, and a worm that brings everything into focus.
John Mark McMillan joins Paul Anleitner and Parker Settecase to share the vision behind JONAH & THE WORM, a graphic novel reimagining the biblical story as mythological fantasy for grown-ups. He traces its beginnings to a crisis of faith while recording Mercury & Lightning and an unexpected encounter with Martin Scorsese’s Silence. Together, they explore how art can help us see familiar stories afresh, why Jonah’s struggle to love his enemies still matters, and what human craft and friendship bring to creative work. They also share how listeners can help fund the first stages of the project.
Key topics
- How a crisis of faith revealed deeper questions about identity, success, and belonging.
- The scene in Silence that changed John Mark’s understanding of faith.
- Why moving Jonah into a mythological setting can reveal details we’ve stopped noticing.
- What the worm, the animals, and Jonah’s anger reveal about the heart of the story.
- How the violence of the Assyrian empire makes God’s invitation to mercy so difficult.
- Why the time, risk, and personal cost of making art shape the finished work.
- How friendship, community, and patronage can help ambitious creative projects become real.
Help bring JONAH & THE WORM to life
We’re raising the first round of funding to develop characters, artwork, and initial pages that will contribute to the finished book and help prepare for a larger campaign. A donor has committed matching funds up to a set limit.
This is an invitation to support the creation of the project through donations, rather than a book preorder. Contributions will go through Prospect and the project’s fiscal sponsor, with tax information available through the donation process.
Mentioned in the conversation
- Silence by Shūsaku Endō and Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation
- Mercury & Lightning by John Mark McMillan
- The biblical book of Jonah
- C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Malcolm Guite
- Good Makers Guild, Prospect, and the Cultural Renewal Fund
A note before listening: This conversation includes major spoilers for Silence and discussion of torture and violence.
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