AIPT Comics

Jordan Blum talks ‘The Big Shakedown,’ plus Wonder Woman’s big year and the return of Bucky Barnes

Episode Summary

This week, Jordan Blum returns to the show to discuss The Big Shakedown, his new crime thriller with Tim Seeley and Scott Koblish. Set in a Los Angeles devastated by a massive earthquake and abandoned by the government, the series follows a troubled detective navigating a city that's developed its own dangerous rules. Blum discusses the inspirations behind this unusual take on LA noir, building a post-apocalyptic city full of gangs and conspiracies, and why he wanted to tell a detective story without superheroes. We also touch on his work on the animated adaptation of Anthony Bourdain's Get Jiro! and what's next for the Minor Threats universe.

Episode Notes

1. The Big Three

6–7 min

Cover the three most consequential stories of the week, ranking them and giving your personal reaction.

  1. DC announces 'Year of Wonder' for 2027 with Louise Simonson and Stephanie Williams taking over 'Wonder Woman'
  2. 'Exquisite Corpses: Book of the Dead' reveals the killers' bloody origins in January 2027
  3. Marvel reveals Bucky Barnes and Nick Fury Sr.'s next chapter in 'Immortal Soldiers' #1

2. Rapid-fire reactions to three or four additional announcements.

3–4 min

  1. Dan Watters brings romance and impending doom to 'The Terminator' this January
  2. DC turns humanity into the enemy in 'Green Lantern: Doomed Cosmos' #1 this January
  3. 'Gehenna: Lust for Conquest' brings more blood-soaked chaos to Image Comics in January 2027

3. What the Press Release Isn't Saying

3–4 min

Dig into one announcement and offer an editorial perspective that listeners won't necessarily get from reading the headline.

  1. Mister Miracle becomes Highfather in 'DC All In Saga: The New Gods' #1 this January

OTHER NEWS

  1. Dan Watters brings romance and impending doom to 'The Terminator' this January
  2. Sean Gordon Murphy and Corin Howell team up for 'The Lost Bones of Lake Totem' at Image Comics
  3. DC January 2027 solicits
    1. DC celebrates 50 years of Black Lightning with anniversary special in January 2027
    2. DC turns humanity into the enemy in 'Green Lantern: Doomed Cosmos' #1 this January
    3. DC announces 'Year of Wonder' for 2027 with Louise Simonson and Stephanie Williams taking over 'Wonder Woman'
  4. Marvel Comic solicitations January 2027
    1. ‘X-Men ’92’ vs. ‘X-Men: Evolution’ gets new variant covers for Marvel’s ‘Incursions’ one-shot

Our Top Books of the Week:

Dave:

  1. Doomquest #5 (Ryan North, Francesco Mobili)
  2. Creepshow: Vol. 5 #2 (Various)

Standout KAPOW moment of the week:

Dave: Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy #4 (Tyler Boss, Dylan Burnett, Jordie Bellaire)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

Interview: Jordan Blum · Tim Seeley, Artist: Scott Koblish The Big Shakedown #1 - September 16

  1. AIPT: The Big Shakedown takes the post-apocalypse and keeps it remarkably local. The rest of the world is still out there, but Los Angeles has essentially been abandoned. What made that more interesting to you than destroying civilization altogether?
  2. AIPT: LA already has this mythology built around reinvention, wealth, entertainment, and people coming there chasing something. What happens to that identity when the city is physically destroyed, and much of the country decides it isn't worth saving?
  3. AIPT: Avalon stepping into the vacuum left by the government feels like a very modern evolution of the company town, while gangs and cartels have essentially become neighborhood governments. How did you figure out who would actually hold power five years after the earthquake?
  4. AIPT: Ester has been a cop, a private investigator, and even a consultant on a Hollywood police show. How much fun was it creating a noir detective who has actually watched Los Angeles turn its own version of her profession into entertainment?
  5. AIPT: Ester desperately wants out of LA, yet she's also trying to excavate something buried beneath the old city. Without giving away what she's looking for, what does that contradiction tell us about her relationship with the life she had before the earthquake?
  6. AIPT: In the first issue, the 2018 Lakers on VHS to make things feel "more like then, less like now" is such a specific detail. How important is nostalgia to this story, especially for people living among the literal remains of their old lives?
  7. AIPT: You describe the series as being in the vein of Chinatown and The Long Goodbye, but by the end of #1 we've got cult-like language, conspiracy, and this ominous reference to the "twilight child." How far did you want to stretch the boundaries of noir once Ester starts pulling at this mystery?
  8. AIPT: Scott Koblish has to sell recognizable Los Angeles, a city devastated by an earthquake, and this heightened pulp-noir world all at once. What did the three of you establish visually that made this still feel unmistakably like LA five years after "The Big One"?
  9. AIPT: Finally, you've destroyed Los Angeles, abandoned it, divided it among corporations and gangs, and filled it with cults and conspiracies. So let's say the three of you are stuck there for a weekend. Who survives the longest, who immediately gets into trouble, and who's somehow still complaining about the traffic?