Long John

When I had the pleasure to talk to an upper-division literature class about Long John, it was clear that Hellrider Jackie was the standout favorite character of the series. First things first: that pleases me to no end. Aside from Long John himself, a version of Hellrider Jackie has existed in my sketchbooks since high school, and for that (for lack of a better word) legacy character to have such an impact gives a lot of validation to the very insecure teenage D. Bethel that still lives in my heart somewhere.

What I find fascinating about it is that she’s kind of barely in the comic at all, but she’s also all over it. I’m really happy with how her philosophy and threat haunt not just Long John (as is evident in what we call the “nightmare pages” behind the scenes) but the entire comic. She has reshaped the culture of the Mono Basin and has her fingers in many aspects of the plot––the comic may not be about her, but it is definitely because of her.

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