Jonah and the Worm: a warlord in a dragon-skull helm, Jonah bleached pale by the fish, and a long-haired warrior in furs stand before purple mountains and a lake

A Goodmakers Guild project

A graphic novel by John Mark McMillan

An epic fantasy retelling of a classic biblical tale, set in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Back the project Read the story

Everyone remembers the fish.

“God appointed a worm, which attacked the plant so that it withered.”Jonah 4:7

Few remember the worm. Near the end of the book of Jonah, the reluctant prophet sits outside the city he was sent to warn, waiting to see it fall. God grows a plant to shade him, sends a worm to wither it, and then asks Jonah a question the story never lets him answer.

John Mark McMillan carries that story into a mythic East as a 150-page, full-color graphic novel: the tale of a runaway prophet, a violent empire, cycles of violence, and a man wrestling with mercy for a people he hates. Moving it there, he says, “takes you out of the world that you think you know, and you start to see details that you miss because you thought you knew the story.”

First look

Early character designs

Character design: an old traveler in a wide-brimmed black hat and pale lavender robes, leaning on a tall staff
Character design: a man bleached pale and mottled, wearing a rope belt and seaweed
Character design: a warlord in a horned dragon-skull helm, scaled armor, and a long blue fur-trimmed cloak

“I think that’s what art does. It defamiliarizes you with the life that you think you know.”

John Mark McMillan
Jonah in a wide-brimmed black hat and pale robes, holding a long pipe, from the Jonah and the Worm art
From Jonah & the Worm

The storyteller

John Mark McMillan

For more than two decades, John Mark made his living as an independent musician. He is the platinum-selling songwriter behind “How He Loves.” About ten years ago he went into the studio to make a big worship record and found himself in a crisis of faith. He told his producer he couldn’t make it honestly, and the album he made in its place became Mercury & Lightning.

In that same season he went to see Martin Scorsese’s Silence, about Jesuit priests in seventeenth-century Japan, and it changed how he understood faith:

“Faith was something that I thought I gave to God, and it turns out that faith is actually something that He gives me.”

Over time the film led him back into faith, and toward telling stories that “offer people opportunities to engage with God in maybe a new way.” A trip to Japan for his fortieth birthday left him with a love for its people he couldn’t explain, and Jonah & the Worm grew from there. In 2025 he stepped back from full-time touring to give himself to writing, including a book on re-enchantment with Nelson Books and a series of graphic novels.

Video: John Mark McMillan, Paul Anleitner, and Parker Settecase on Jonah & the Worm
John Mark tells the story behind the book, with Paul Anleitner and Parker Settecase.

How your gift becomes a book

A graphic novel made to the standard of the major comics publishers is a six-figure undertaking. Every page needs a penciler, an inker, and a colorist, along with layout and professional writers. Phase I raises the first $8,000 for character design, world building, and concept art: finished sample pages and cover designs that John Mark will use to pitch the larger campaign. Concept art is planned for summer 2027, with the full book expected in late 2028.

  1. The Guild champions the work

    Goodmakers Guild helps storytellers bring beautiful, true, and good work into the world. We come alongside John Mark with collaborators, counsel, and a community of makers.

  2. You give through Prospect

    Every contribution is tax-deductible. There are no reward tiers to fulfill, so your gift goes to the work.

  3. Patrons double your gift

    Every Phase I gift is matched 1:1 by patrons of the Cultural Renewal Fund, up to $4,000.

Cultural Renewal Fund from Dialect Foundation, with the Goodmakers Guild seal

Help bring Jonah & the Worm into the world

Every gift is tax-deductible and matched 1:1, up to $4,000, toward the $8,000 Phase I goal.

Back the project on Prospect

Gifts made through Prospect go to The Dialect Foundation, a 501(c)(3), which holds the funds for this project and reviews every grant request before any money moves. Goodmakers Guild is a program of The Dialect Foundation.