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Synopsis:

“Sharknado” meets “Sin City” in this high-octane adventure that explodes off the page in an alternate future where Motor City has become a mutant-filled urban nightmare. Prepare for a book with a body count!

Praise for Detroit 2020:

“DETROIT 2020 is a pitch-perfect sendup of a “boobs and ‘splosions” style actioner.”

“If you enjoy graphic novels, zombies, one-liners and uncomplicated plots, then this is probably exactly what you need”

“Moves at a very brisk pace and the action is relentless”

Dr. Julia Blaze recruits mercenary Dagger Estevez to escort her across the ruins of Free Detroit. He kills mutants on sight, but as long as she takes her pills, he’ll never know she’s changing. Will Julia find a cure for her mutation before time runs out, or will she be captured by the maniacal cyborg mayor RoboKwame and his murderous thugs?

Review:

I love stories about the future that were written in the past and the future is nothing like how it was written. From 1984 to Back to the Future II to  The Class of 1999 to Children of Men (which takes place later this year), I love how far the predictions are off. Having said this, Detroit 2020 was published four years ago, and the writers did not even try to predict the future but make Detroit a city overrun by mutants and police, headed up by Mayor RoboKwame. The story is about Julie Blaze trying to get out of Free Detroit with the help of Dagger Estevez. It is short. It reads fast, and it is exactly what you think it is. A ridiculous amount of action, death, and gore. I loved every minute of it, and the only thing that I wish was done better is a better sense of the decay that the city has endured. There is talk about Ford Field, but I would’ve also liked to heard more about what happened to other landmarks in the town. I would have loved more about Woodward Avenue and the Cass Corridor and even the overrunning of Bloomfield Hills. They are trying to get to Canada, and the way to Canada is through downtown, toward the large Joe Lewis fist sculpture and bridge into Windsor. The only thing that could have made this better is more landmarks.

I was drawn to this as soon as I saw the word “RoboKwame.” Kwame Kilpatrick was Detroit’s mayor who is now in federal prison for a slew of charges. His mayoral years were amazingly filled with corruption, sexting scandals, embezzlement, drama, and even a fight when his wife came home to catch him with a stripper. I love that RoboKwame is the mayor and that he is running the police state he promised in his State of the City speech in 2008. If I could think of any person who is an amazing villain, it would be a robot version of this guy. His years as mayor of Detroit are fascinating, and if there is anyone worth the time to read all about, it would be him.

Detroit 2020 is a great little novella, and I would love to see more Detroit inspired bizarro and horror fiction.