The term “arrested decay” is not original to me––I kind of always knew at least one chapter of the book would have that title. It’s a term specifically connected to Bodie and how it is preserved as a ghost town that is also a California state park. It is because of this form of preservation that makes Bodie unique from other ghost towns, as well. Preserved as people left it instead of polishing everything up and having actors walk around in character as 19th century citizens, Bodie is instead a quiet place to be in. It’s very large and, with it being at such a high elevation (about 84oo’––~2560 meters for our metric readers), exploring it is quickly exhausting.
The once booming town of Bodie, now a State Historic Park. Taken on one of my trips there.
All of this works to create a distinct tone or vibe––one that I really wanted LongJohn to capture and one that I think I’ve met throughout the series. So, even if it’s a title that’s a little shoehorned into the book and this dialogue, it was essential for it to be there. Fun Fact: I almost titled the chapter “Mourning Brooch” because it’s such a good term, but a little too edgelord for me.
Thumbnail for this page. Click for larger version.
We’ve got one week left in the preorder, and I wanted to start the week with a bit of an update and a NEW add on opportunity!
First, I want to thank everyone who has preordered the book so far! I can’t wait to get it into your hands! It warms the heart to see people coming out to support the book.
Secondly, I’ve had people asking about an option to include all the books with the preorder, so now is the time to request! For an additional $40 you can get a copy of the previous 5 books with your order––all signed!
Again, preorders END this Friday, 12/19! So, head to LongJohnBook.com today if you haven’t secured your copy yet!
The time has come to bring the story of Long John Walker to a close, in physical form! Starting today, Monday, December 8 through Friday, December 19, preorders are open to procure a copy of Long John, Volume 6 for a mere $20. Here’s what you get for your money:
A copy of Volume 6, signed
Mini-prints of Volume 6 art
Exclusive access to a 2026 Kickstarter tier
Long John Coaster
The print run for Volume 6 is going to be fairly limited, there to satisfy the long-time readers and collection-completing fiends alike. The bonus of jumping in on this preorder is that it also gives you access to an exclusive Kickstarter tier for when the one-volume version of Long John Kickstarter goes live sometime in 2026 (supporters will be contacted through a valid email address).
Furthermore, Volume 6 is on track to be the largestLong John book ever. With 59 pages of story content and incredible pinups from Melissa Pagluica (Monster Heart and Above the Clouds) and Jon Berg (SKAB) as well as original art and writing from series creator, D. Bethel, all line up to making this the biggest Long John book ever.
With the new chapter beginning to update on Monday, October 27, it seems like a fair point to reveal not only the title of Chapter 6, but also the cover for the upcoming book.
The cover for Volume 6. Click image for larger version.
Admittedly, I have been very lucky over the last few books when the ideas for the covers for “Making Smoke” (volume 3), “Dead Words” (volume 4), and “Parting Gift” (volume 5) came to me rather quickly and early (or, at least, naturally) in the process.
The cover for “Sunza” was a last-minute swing to scrounge together a cover for a book that needed one. I discussed the ramshackle process for that cover earlier, but I can’t emphasize enough that it was not a thoughtful process. The cover for “Bird’s Eye” was also a kind of “time has run out” kind of thing and sketched out that idea in a moment of panicked inspiration.
The cover for the final Long John book is a mixture between the two extremes.
As of this writing, this cover didn’t exist at all three days ago. Part of the delay was surely the enormity of the occasion––the last book should have an incredible cover, right? However, I wanted to keep it of a theme with the design of previous books: simple, austere, interpretive. But I also wanted it to be celebratory and epic. So, I vacillated between ideas of simple graphical designs to a more “movie poster” style idea; however, nothing actually manifested in my sketchbook.
The very first Long John cover I ever did was for the Crocker-Con preview book back in 2014, which was more “movie poster” styled. While it doesn’t match the rest of the books, it became the image I used on my banner and other promotional pieces.
So, during an in-class writing activity my students were doing for a large portion of the class on Monday, I had my sketchbook and just drew shapes, quickly landing the image of the scythe with the banner tied to it and, after a few different ideas, Long John posed in the manner he is in the final image.
It was all really sketchy and I wasn’t sure if it would work, though. So, that night I took my iPad up to bed and decided to work it out. An hour later I had the cover image pencilled. I printed the pencils the next morning and had it inked before going to work. By the end of Tuesday night, it was colored and titled.
There was also a very light pattern I was low-key adhering to throughout the designs that I’ve never talked about before. I really view Long John as two halves, with “book 1” being Chapters 1-3 and “book 2” being 4-6; distinct arcs in their own regard. To that end, the color scheme of the colors of each book for each arc were designed around similar color schemes: Volume 1 & Volume 4 are red-coded, Volume 2 & Volume 5 are blue-coded. So, part of what stalled the design of Volume 6 was the unspoken desire to have it be orange/brown coded like the cover of Volume 3 was. But the drawing didn’t call for that, so I decided to break the pattern and I’m happy I did.
All six of the covers gathered together. They make a nice set, in my opinion, at least.
Looking at the gathered covers throughout the series, despite how seat-of-the-pants some covers were and how inspired others were, I’m really happy with the cover work I’ve done for Long John and, to me, are major parts of the tone and voice of the series overall.
As for the imagery, its meaning, and relevance, that’s for you to find out when Chapter 6 starts updating on Monday, October 27. Three pages will go up a week here on the website (with informative blog posts attached to each), but will also be posted to the Long John Facebook page, my Instagram profile (and its associated Threads account), and Bluesky.
A wandering merchant who literally carries his livelihood on his back. He has become an ubiquitous child of the basin as he wanders from camp to camp, town to town, selling wares and acquiring more. He is the only figure that no one dislikes, but perhaps that's only because he doesn't get in anyone's way.
Reprinted from an 1879 column published in The Chico Morning Chronicle-Record:
'Famous gunfighter––though currently riding under the guise of a bounty hunter––"Long" John Walker's stoic, monolithic presence draws the attention of every room into which he steps, even in spite of his severe penchant towards laconicism. The apparent contradiction extends to his dress, as his already massive frame is extensively layered beneath strata of wool, leather, and cotton garnished with smaller adornments made of ivory and precious stones. As the ostensible leader of the trio of "bounty hunters" known colloquially as "The Johns" (after the fact that all three members share the name, though the record is unreliable), he commands through nuanced gesture, threatens through twitches of the eye, and famously shoots running targets at rifle-distance with his standard Colt model P (I can personally vouch for this feat and while many of his other popular descriptors are the work of dime novels, this claim is irrevocably true). While his motives are kept close to his dandily clothed chest, there is no doubt that no man alive wants to be on the bad end of his gun's sight-line.'
