Residents of California have worried and speculated about “the big one” — the cataclysmic earthquake that will doom the Golden State — for decades now. In a new comic book series that blends film noir with science fiction, it’s already come and gone. Today, Collider is proud to present an exclusive look at The Big Shakedown, a new four-issue miniseries from Dark Horse Comics.
The series opens five years after a mega-quake left Los Angeles in ruins, with most of the population having either perished or fled. But there are a handful of stragglers who either won’t or can’t leave. One of them is private detective Ester Blanco, a onetime private eye who’s desperate to depart for greener pastures. She may have found her ticket out of the City of Angels when a desperate father hires her to find his missing daughter. But how is Ester going to find a missing person in a city where a third of the population is already missing? That question brings her into contact with a sinister underworld of cults and conspiracies that threaten to destroy what’s left of the City of Angels.
The series is penned by Jordan Blum and Tim Seeley, with art by Scott Koblish; it will be colored by Hi-Fi and lettered by Nate Piekos. Says co-writer Blum, “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.” The Big Shakedown #1 will hit comic shops on September 16: you can pre-order your copy now.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Who Are the Creators of ‘The Big Shakedown’?
The cover of The Big Shakedown #1. Art by Scott Koblish.Image via Dark Horse Comics
Jordan Blum wrote episodes of American Dad! and Community, and showran the stop-motion Hulu series M.O.D.O.K. In the comics realm, he, Patton Oswalt, and Scott Hepburn co-created the series Minor Threats, which depicts the quest of a group of low-level costumed criminals to kill their city’s deadliest super-menace; it’s set to be adapted by Netflix. Tim Seeley co-created the comic series Hack/Slash and Revival; the latter was recently adapted for TV by SyFy. He currently writes X-Force for Marvel. Scott Koblish has penciled and inked dozens of titles for Marvel and DC; his cover for Deadpool#27 holds a Guinness World Record for Most Characters Depicted on a Single Comic Book Cover.
Hi-Fi is a coloring studio founded by Brian Miller and Kristy Miller; they’ve colored books for almost every publisher in comics. Nate Piekos is a twenty-year veteran of the comic book industry and penned The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering. Founded in Oregon in 1986, Dark Horse Comics is one of the longest-running independent publishers in comics. Their most notable publications include Usagi Yojimbo, Sin City, 300, Hellboy, and The Umbrella Academy.
The Big Shakedown #1 will be available in comic shops on September 16. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
