The Blues Brothers Are Back – Stella Aykroyd & Luke Pisano Interview

When a franchise like The Blues Brothers roars back to life, you don’t treat it casually. And based on the new graphic novel The Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake, it’s clear that the team behind this next chapter didn’t just get it right—they brought the band back together in the most respectful, imaginative way possible.

I sat down with two of the driving forces behind the project, Stella Aykroyd (daughter of Dan Aykroyd) and Luke Pisano (son of the late Judy Belushi Pisano), for a conversation full of legacy, laughter, and deep affection for Jake and Elwood Blues.

Jim: The Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake. The artwork is gorgeous. It’s got this cool kind of retro vibe to it. Who did you get to do that, first of all? Because that’s cool as hell.

Stella: The artwork is killer. Yeah, the artwork is killer.

Luke: We have an amazing Brazilian artist named Felipe Sobreiro, and we worked with him, and he came up with the character design, and yeah, it’s just beautiful. I think we all had a moment—including my dad—when we saw Jake older, and it was very heartfelt and meaningful. I think we all sort of paused for a moment.

Jim: That’s really nice. And there’s got to be a point for both of you where there's a balance between fan service and fresh storytelling. Where you find that moment… Like you said, Stella, your dad—Dan—must have been like, “Well, God, this is really doing it right.”

Stella: Totally. Yeah. He saw the first few black and white penciled comic strips and he was like, “Wow, this looks really, really good.”

Jim: Is that your dad impression? I’ve never heard that.

Stella: That’s my dad, yeah.

Jim: And Luke—obviously your mom, Judy. What she did keeping the flame going for so many years with not only The Blues Brothers, but the legacy of your father... For you to see that, it's got to be emotional as well, right?

Luke: Yeah. John Belushi was not my father, just to be clear.

Jim: Right, right. Well—Judy, okay, yeah.

Luke: Yeah, but my mom definitely was the champion of The Blues Brothers. She passed away a little less than a year ago, so she really... the work that she did in her lifetime was, you know, that’s basically where the motivation for this comic came from—these were conversations that her and I had of how to get these characters back into a new hat, glasses, and suit, if you will. The comic book form just felt so organic. It was really her idea to get these characters into a new form. And I just feel grateful to continue her work, you know.

Jim: Did she have stuff from the Blues Brothers era around the house? Props? Mementos?

Luke: That’s funny you asked that. I had the original briefcase. I had John’s guitar. I had Elwood’s microphone. I had that all in my office until literally two weeks ago. We sent it to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And now you can go see it there—and they’re there with the original suits.

Jim: Same question for you, Stella. What about your dad?

Stella: You know, I think there are some Polaroids of John and my dad on set that sort of live in various drawers of our home in Canada. Growing up, it was like my dad’s hat box was “do not touch it, don’t move it from the spot where it is.” It’s very precious. And you know, he still carries it around with him for shows and all that. But no—I think Judy really was the one that they trusted to keep all of this stuff. But my dad? I mean, you can find a harmonica in pretty much every drawer of our house, so I’m sure the OG one is in there somewhere.

Jim: You guys understand that a hundred years from now, people will still talk about The Blues Brothers. Jake and Elwood are just part of our lives.

Luke: Well, Jim, that’s exactly why we did it.

Stella: Yeah.

Luke: Once we could get these characters in a new form… We’ve been writing this story for two years. Stella and I, and our third writing partner, James Werner, who’s been absolutely crucial to making this story what it is. The three of us have just tried to put our heads together—feeling the pressure of what this is, what you’re saying—that people will be reading this forever, and trying to come up with something that’s actually worth reading, right?

Jim: Oh, you crushed it. You got it.

Luke: Yeah.

Stella: Well, and back to fan service—Luke, James, and I, we are fans. We are fans of the movie. I’m a fan of my dad. And so it’s easy to do the fan service stuff because we are servicing ourselves.

Jim: Nice. Well said.

Jim: Okay, I absolutely love this. Let me ask you a question about the original movie. Not to fanboy this, but—if you had to play one song from The Blues Brothers for someone who’s never heard them, what would it be?

Stella: I think that last number that closes out The Blues Brothers movie—where they come out of the floor of the stage, or maybe they descend into the floor of the stage, and my dad is dancing on his knees. I think that would be the clip and the song to show somebody. Because you gotta see the hilarity and the craziness that surrounds these guys.

Jim: Same question, Luke?

Luke: Well, I just give it up to the band. The Blues Brothers had just... If you don’t know the history of The Blues Brothers band and who they assembled at the time to make a band like that—I won’t go into it now, but it’s worth looking into. I think “Soul Man” is really the song to hear, just not knowing anything. It’s such a punch in the face. But my personal favorite is “Hey Bartender.” So, you know, I might do a deep cut.

Jim: For me it’s “Rubber Biscuit,” because I would walk around singing in the house and my dad would look at me going, “What the hell are you talking about?” He’s like, “What do you mean?” And I’m like, “A Sunday I go to meet him on the biscuit bow bow bow…” and he’s like, “Shut up.” He would just tell me, like, enough, man.

Jim: Hey, I know our time is short, but this is The Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake. If you are a fan of The Blues Brothers—so many of us are—this will go on my shelf with all my favorite books. I absolutely love what you guys have done. Stella and Luke, congratulations on this. Get to the Motor City. We want to meet you here.

Luke: Thank you, Jim.

Stella: Thank you so much. I look forward to meeting you soon.

Jim: Take care.

Stella: Be well.

Luke: Thanks, guys.

The Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake is available for pre-order now via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent comic, book, and record stores everywhere. For longtime fans and first-time readers, this isn’t just a tribute—it’s a revival. Jake and Elwood live on.