California's worst nightmare has already come true in Dark Horse Comics' upcoming miniseries The Big Shakedown. This four-issue sci-fi noir thriller, penned by Jordan Blum and Tim Seeley with art by Scott Koblish, drops readers into a Los Angeles still reeling from a catastrophic earthquake that struck five years earlier. Collider has the exclusive first look at this gritty, genre-blending tale.
The story follows private detective Ester Blanco, a former PI desperate to escape the ruined city. Most of LA's population has either perished or fled, but a stubborn few remain—including Ester, who sees a glimmer of hope when a frantic father hires her to find his missing daughter. The catch? How do you locate one person in a metropolis where a third of the population is already gone? Her search plunges her into a shadowy underworld of cults and conspiracies that threaten to finish what the earthquake started.
Co-writer Jordan Blum, known for his work on American Dad! and Community, as well as co-creating the comic Minor Threats with Patton Oswalt, explains the inspiration: "LA noir has a long, rich history and we wanted to do a unique and original spin on the detective thriller, so we set it in the aftermath of every Angeleno's greatest fear... THE BIG ONE." Blum's partner in crime, Tim Seeley, co-created the acclaimed series Hack/Slash and Revival (the latter adapted for TV by SyFy) and currently writes X-Force for Marvel.
Artist Scott Koblish brings his extensive Marvel and DC experience to the project—his cover for Deadpool #27 holds a Guinness World Record for most characters on a single comic cover. The colors come from Hi-Fi, the studio founded by Brian and Kristy Miller, while lettering is handled by veteran Nate Piekos, author of The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering. Dark Horse Comics, the Oregon-based indie powerhouse behind Hellboy, Sin City, and The Umbrella Academy, is publishing the series.
For fans of detective stories with a twist, The Big Shakedown promises a fresh take on the noir genre. If you love the gritty, procedural feel of shows like Prime Video's Bosch, this comic's blend of mystery and survival will hit the spot. And for those who remember how 9-1-1's earthquake disaster changed that show forever, this series explores the aftermath on an even grander scale.
Issue #1 of The Big Shakedown hits comic shops on September 16, and pre-orders are open now. Whether you're a longtime noir enthusiast or a sci-fi fan looking for something new, this miniseries is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated indie releases of the fall.
