2020 Visions

by Jamie Delano, Frank Quitely (Illustrator), Warren Pleece (Illustrator)

Jamie Delano's tour de force follows the lives of a disjointed family, struggling to survive in the morally and socially decadent United States of 2020. From symbiotic venereal diseases to exclusive human breeding facilities, the future never looked so bleak, or so hopeful.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Jamie Delano aka A. William James began writing comics professionally in the early 1980s. Latterly he has been writing prose fiction with "BOOK THIRTEEN" published by his own LEPUS BOOKS imprint (http://www.lepusbooks.co.uk) in 2012, "Leepus | DIZZY" in April 2014, and "Leepus | THE RIVER" in 2017.

Jamie lives in semi-rural Northamptonshire with his partner, Sue. They have three adult children and a considerable distraction of grandchildren.

Reviews

[Ill D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I read a comic book because I want to. Sometimes I read a comic book just because I want to review it. Sometimes I read a comic book and feel the gnawing need to finish it just to review it even though I didn't particularly enjoy it. Unfortunately, this one slanted much toward the latter.

Unlike the perfect vision the title might suggest, 20/20 Vision(s) suffers from a serious bout of glaucoma that I doubt even the most potent Medicinal herbage could assuage. The slant of an eye and the ensuing diminishment of vision not only perfectly describes a character in the comic but, an equally derelict degradation of vision by the author of the series, the much famed Jamie Delano (of Hellblazer fame). Treatment is available for glaucoma but no treatment exists (currently) for 2020 Visions.

While (initially at least) presented/advertised as four separate yarns, 2020 Visions is actually something of a micro-quilt in narrative form, barely stitched together by a few paper thin threads. As tenuous as the connections are betwixt the stories, so to are the individual yarns of story and character themselves. Ranging from a drug-addled curmudgeon raging against the failures of the modern world to a cross-dressing Latino private dick to a street urchin sold from slavery into a Christian Right-Wing paramilitary group to an asexualized beefcake; enormous oddities of character illustrate each panel. Oddities of character are matched by an oddity of setting. Somehow all these conflicts and inter-personal struggles are all ensconced under a bizarre umbrella of a backdrop that is a cross-hybrid of Dystopia and Post-Apocalyptic America.

On the Richter scale of edginess it would score around an 11. On the scale of cohesion, the number would dip well below half-way. As far as an exemplar of the Vertigo Comics imprint its far more representative as a sampler rather than a proper gateway toward the good shit.

In either case, I sure hope Jamie Delano got his vision fixed because it was definitely not someone with perfect vision writing nor illustrating this.

If you're a cool cat like me with a stash of old-school Vertigo comics that is as secret as it is vast, its worth a read. If you're a graphic novel neophyte a pass wouldn't hurt. But in the grand scheme of (literary) things its more meh than ah.

One thumb halfway up. (:/)

[Oneirosophos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason I picked it up, it was its title. And I discovered a lost diamond!

Four 3-part extremely mature and dark post-apocalyptic stories, from cannibals to feminazis are dying to be read! And hide many current truths...

[Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un'opera di fantascienza? Di certo estremizza alcune possibilità di sviluppo futuro come venivano viste nei '90. Ma nel complesso è una presentazione di incubi futuri, abbastanza ben resa ma con diverse pecche, dovute più al formato che all'autore. Ha perso un poco con il trascorrere dei decenni, ma non molto.
Anche la parte grafica, con ogni capitolo di questa saga familiare sui generis, come sui generis è questa famiglia, risente delle diverse mani dei quattro disegnatori. Alcuni capitoli non sono all'altezza degli altri.

[pastiesandpages - Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

2020 Visions by Jamie Delano

This 12 issue series from Vertigo comics was released in 1997-1998. Split into four separate stories across 3 issues each with a different artist for each story arc this is a science fiction series blended with other genres and takes quite a pessimistic look at the future of Amercan culture (or near past as it now is!) but maybe it was intended as a warning of where the world is headed.

The four stories are loosely linked by family connections between the main characters in each tale and all four are happening more or less at the same time.

There's plenty wrong in the world right now but it's not as bleak as the violence, squalor, degeneracy, grotesqueness and falling birth rates that Jamie presents.
But what is scarily uncanny is that the first story features a pandemic and face masks in 2020!

Where Jamie was also ahead of the game is in his depiction of gender. There are several non- binary characters here that are integral to the plot.

Lust for Life is illustrated by Frank Quitely. Pandemic sci-fi horror.

La Tormenta is illustrated by Warren Pleece. Sci-fi crime with a non-binary detective.

Renegade is illustrated by James Romberger. This starts with street gangs and warring factions in Detroit before verging into western territory.

Repro-Man is illustrated by Steve Pugh. A sci-fi romance of sorts. With plenty of bloodshed.

The art in Lust for Life was my favourite. Some of the others became too messy and squalid at times. An interesting series which is too bleak to be fully enjoyable but it's worth a read for fans of speculative fiction and a new collected paperback edition was released as recently as 2019.

✨✨✨⚡3.5 stars

[Mihika · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one has reviewed this book since quarantine and i am guessing the ratings would change if they did! 2020 Visions- with people in masks on the cover, scenes of violence and poverty in the background, of four interrelated stories of one broken family in a world (in 2020) - the first story is of the father in NYC which is now crawling with a highly transmittable virus, the second is of his detective daughter in a post-fertility world, the third and fourth are of each of her sons - a messiah and a plague in their own way.

This book written in 1997 - 1998, follows the same timeline in different regions facing extreme circumstances - pandemic, sterility, religious fundamentalists, gender fundamentalists. It captures brutal regimes, of society divided, the economy ravaged, and sustainable livelihoods turned in for metal and gunpowder in the name of security. More than anything, it captures fear. Gritty and raw, this graphic novel is violent and sometimes lurid but also a bit crazy to read in these times of Covid. As they say, hindsight is 20/20.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I have to admit. When I first heard about the plot it sounded like a bad porn video. Now, that I've read it. It still sounds like one, but the story line was shockingly good and the characters aren't cliches. The character design in the art is beautifully done and I love how the color pallet adds to the dystopian feeling.

[Alberto Marcos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pesadilla distópica en una línea que me recuerda a "Transmetropolitan" pero sin llegar a su nivel.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny how little changes in 20 years.

[Kaustubh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Transmetropolitan fans like me should gobble this up with no problems whatsoever. There’s no doubt in my mind that Jamie Delano (Hellblazer) was influenced by the Ellis opus. Frank Quitely (We3, New X-Men) does an awesome job of emulating the same futuristic feel that exudes from Darick Robertson’s phenomenal work in Transmetropolitan. Delano is quite the Ellis as well – quirky, vulgar, hilarious. Anyhow, this isn’t a comparison of the two comics by any means - I just wanted to make it clear that the fans of Transmetropolitan will dig this. Oh, and this one’s put out by Vertigo as well. Before I jump into the Lust For Life arc, let me drop some knowledge on the Visions 2020 series. In totality there are 12 issues, divided into 4 arcs of three issues each. Delano is the sole writer, but there are different artists for each arc. Now what is unique about this is that the arcs are interconnected, yet very different from each other. Plus, each arc is written in a different style – horror (Lust For Life), crime (La Tormenta), western (Renegade), romance (Repro-Man). Actually, all these elements are found in each one, but the arcs do predominantly fall under a particular genre.

Lust For Life is set in New York City in the year 2020. The city is divided into two zones – one where the rich dwell, and the other, filthier, unhealthier place where all the nobodies stay. The poverty stricken people have no say in the City’s governance and what the affluent say goes. Lust For Life chronicles the story of Alex Woycheck, baby boomer, senior citizen and a generic nobody who has lead quite an interesting life, but loathes his present one because of the well-off and power hungry people of the city (he’s like Spider Jerusalem, but older!). On one normal, lousy day of his burdensome life our senior walks down the road to the local market to buy some porn and score some dope (very routine eh?). Meanwhile, a deranged vagabond jumps from a tall building which is just above the marketplace and falls to his death, in all his splendor. As his body hits the hard concrete, blood gushes out everywhere and splatters everyone. The people who are touched by his blood get infected with some sort of apocalyptic plague which causes people to bleed out of their skin and to start to have fits of uncontrollable lust coupled with pain; Alex one of them. Totally disoriented, the disease gets to him, and he unwillingly infects his ex-girlfriend Zandra – porn industry overlord, neo-lesbian and Class A bitch whom Alex still loves. Now the plot becomes all sorts of complicated as he gets thrown into a Government Disinfection asylum and she joins him there after a couple of days. As Alex sees masses of populace dying, he, on the other hand, somehow wards off the disease and starts to actually enjoy getting those fits. He then churns out a plan to inflict all the hatred that he has stored for the power-seekers by uniting all the plagued folk and infecting the rich part of town.

Well, if the story didn’t convince you cyberpunk fans to get a hold of this, I don’t know what will. The plot is quite riveting and the dialogue is intelligent and eccentric enough to keep you glued to your seats. Mr. Delano tells a complex tale in a very, very multifaceted manner, intermingled with sardonic humour and smug rants, which all add up to a very comprehensible and interesting read. Mr. Quitely’s artwork is meticulous, vivid and grubby, which makes for a marvelous combination. The only qualm I had with this comic was the somewhat (STRESS on somewhat) unsatisfactory ending, but that just made me yearn more for the next arc.

[Tanabrus · Rating 3 out of 5]

2020 Visions è in realtà un’opera divisa in quattro storie, ognuna dell’arco di tre numeri (in originale, prima della raccolta in un unico volume).
Un’opera abbastanza alla Ellis di Transmetropolitan.




Abbiamo un futuro non troppo piacevole, dove i ricchi sono enormemente ricchi e possiedono sicurezza, tecnologie all’avanguardia, candore e potere.
E i poveri vivono come possono, tra droghe, infezioni, sterilità, guerre, sfruttamenti, mutazioni.

Quattro storie separate, per tematiche, protagonisti e locations.
Quattro storie con l’unico denominatore comune che è il mondo che immagina ci piomberà addosso Jamie Delano.
Quatto storie a sé stanti, tre delle quali però ci mostrano un filo conduttore.

Prima conosciamo la detective mascolina traumatizzata dalla propria gravidanza. Una gravidanza che aveva voluto interrompere, ma era stata intercettata dagil antiabortisti fuori dalla clinica, e loro avevano fatto nascere a forza i gemelli che aspettava.

Poi vediamo la vita di un ragazzino, cresciuto tra delinquenti e guerriglieri. Un ragazzino che scopriamo poi essere uno dei due gemelli, un ragazzino alla perenne ricerca del fratello, scelto dai missionari per una vita migliore, mentre lui era stato lasciato a marcire, destinato a un futuro di sangue.

E infine vediamo il fratello fortunato. Attore palestrato e idolatrato, uno dei pochi individui sani e fertili di questo futuro, una bestia da accoppiamento. Per modo di dire. Più una fabbrica di seme, dato che tra le alte sfere il sesso vecchio stampo non usa più, è lasciato ai poveracci dei bassifondi, vittima dei loro bassi istinti. Il seme serve per le fecondazioni in vitro, per le ricche signore desiderose di una cosa rarissima di questi tempi, un figlio.



E la prima storia?
Ci introduce a un mondo dove le droghe la fanno da padrone tra i non eletti, dove la polizia è temuta e terrorizzante, dove le malattie infettive sono ovunque e incontrastate. Un mondo dove si dice che ci sia la cura miracolosa, ma nessuno la tira fuori aspettando la vera grande epidemia, quella da debellare per non soccombere. E quindi i ricchi stanno nascosti nella cittadella sterile, i poveri marciscono per le strade. O nell’isola-prigione degli infetti.
I furbi fuggono e vivono nascosti nell’ombra.
Un futuro disturbante e privo di speranza, un futuro che francamente spererei di non vedere mai… piuttosto preferisco quello di Transmetropolitan, ha più possibilità di redenzione rispetto a questo. Ed è tutto un dire.

[Danijel Jedriško · Rating 4 out of 5]

"2020 Visions" by Jamie Delano is a collection of four stories about the near future. Novel is written in the mid-nineties and then the year 2020 seemed very far indeed. It's interesting to see how one of the best authors in the field saw the near future, and also realize that the novel could be titles 2050 Visions and have the same strength and message as it had in the nineties.

Yes, there are some things that are mildly irritating (mentioning of SSSR, which in the mid-nineties didn't exist anymore, predicting that Castro will die in 2003, references to communism in general), but the ideas, illustrations and depictions of the world itself were ingenious.

So, in a nutshell: Should anyone read Delano's "2020 Visions" today?

Definitely.

Should anyone consider them prophetic?

It depends. The characters and situations inside "2020 Visions" are future in the same way any human characterization can be considered the future. Situations inside are, like in every good SF, perspectives of the entire humanity. Think Asimov, think Ellison.

Delano made great novel about us, but it takes understanding of the references to fully appreciate his undertaking.

[Anca · Rating 3 out of 5]

So.. it's post-apocalyptic future. The US are torn between religious factions, Florida is annexed to Cuba, Detroit is a Muslim independent State and in Los Angeles it illegal to breed without a permit. Estrogen pollution is at it's highest and sexual plagues are chewing away at the unlucky saps that got locked out of The Wall.
It all went downhill when "the intellectual-feminist Presidential dynasty" slipped into power. And the eco-fascists helped. It's funny and unbelievable at times but a very interesting 'what if' scenario.
At one point it made me think of 'Y The Last Man' in regard to the female-run society. In Y the males are suddenly taken out of the picture while in 2020 they are slowly being replaced in relationships and otherwise by women following the gradually decreasing ability of their gender to give birth.

[Alex Sarll]

Originally published in the mid-nineties, when 2020 was still the future, then collected in 2004, when it was still a fair way off. But now, when it's barely round the corner, it's hard not to look at this account of a schismatic and largely sterile North America mainly in terms of how much it got wrong (huge SF buildings towering over a still-standing World Trade Center, porn outlawed, no mobiles). Which is far from the whole point, because science fiction was never primarily predictive. The usual Delano concerns loom large her - inequality, non-standard family structures and gender identities, the sheer strangeness of the meat in which our minds wander the world. This is also, I think, the first time I've seen Frank Quitely art in black and white; it looks weirdly hollow that way.

[teohjitkhiam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not an easy book to like. With four story arcs, written by the same person but illustrated by various artists, it is not surprising that the artwork can be quite spotty, but even more surprising, in my personal opinion, the story-lines as well. The La Tormenta & Renegade arcs were engaging to read but I found myself unwillingly plowing through Lust For Life & Repro-Man, despite some occasional brilliant moments. Overall, I would not recommend this Vertigo imprint and would venture that this is probably not one of Jamie Delano's best output yet.

[Janet Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. He had some prescient things to say about the future and I really admire his ability to write genderqueer/fluid characters without needing to make it the focal point of a story (or even remark on it as being particularly unusual).

[Darrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think this is incorrectly attributed to Steve Pugh
the writer is Jaime Delano

incredible work
i am a sucker for near future stuff

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I read this dystopian collection again. Delano spells out a few interlocking visions of a post-apocalyptic future with interesting twists and originality.

[Fabio Tassi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Distopia negativa molto dura e violenta, dall'autore del British Bastard per eccellenza (J.Constantine protagonista di Hellraiser). Consigliato solo per stomaci forti.

[Neil Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A still amusing, albeit dated, experimental fiction