History Webcomic / Westward

* FrickinLaserBeams: Spratt's "Ruby Ray" -- it seems he's ''invented'' Frickin' Laser Beams in this timeline.

* [[ClarkesThirdLaw Clarke's Third Law]]: [[http://westwardcomic.com/strips/0013/ Evoked by Rex and Captain Carter]] early on in the strip.
* UsefulNotes/ColdWar: In ''Westward'''s timeline, it never ended. Initially it's just an interesting part of the background, but eventually the implications become quite important to the plot, and personally to some of the characters...

* Creator/MCEscher: [[FasterThanLightTravel Escherspace]] is a reference to his work, of course. ''Relativity'' specifically is used to illustrate the concept in a {{newsreel}}.

* SpaceElevator: The Westward carries its own portable space elevator, which can be deployed from the ship's orbit to the planet's surface for the transport of landing parties and colonists. It can also be pulled up and later re-deployed. The author has stated that he wanted an alternative to the TeleportersAndTransporters that other sci-fi works use for this purpose, something with more of an "analog" feel -- and a bit more plausible. However, while it's a unique approach, the elevator doesn't quite work in a realistic manner. It also seems to be the Westward's ''only'' way of accessing a planet's surface, which may lead to problems later on in the story.

* AlternateHistory: WorldWarII ended when a (presumed) Soviet superweapon destroyed Berlin and ignited the Earth's atmosphere, devastating much of Europe; the Cold War continues into the 21st century; a manned mission to Mars happens in 1974, and attempts to colonize it are made by the 1980s; FasterThanLightTravel is possible in 1999 (though no-one entirely ''understands'' it).

Set in an AlternateHistory where the ColdWar never ended and humanity reached {{UsefulNotes/Mars}} by [[TheSeventies the 1970s]], ''Westward'' has a unique visual style, a wide cast of engaging characters, and a plot that takes its readers from dead alien worlds to mysterious spaceborne artefacts to a seemingly unremarkable Western town all without losing its impact, its sense of adventure, or its ability to keep everyone guessing and glued to the screen with every page.

* ColdWar: In ''Westward'''s timeline, it never ended. Initially it's just an interesting part of the background, but eventually the implications become quite important to the plot, and personally to some of the characters...

* Spin-Off: Westward's 3rd episode moved the focus away from the ship and its crew back to earth, where we get to follow the story of a teenage girl cooping with the death of her mother and a useless father. Eventually her adventures were continued in [[http://westwardcomic.com/arizona-introduction/ Arizona]]

* [[ClarkesThirdLaw Clarke's Third Law]]: [[http://westwardcomic.com/comic.php?itemid=18 Evoked by Rex and Captain Carter]] early on in the strip.

* ArtEvolution: The [[http://westwardcomic.com/strips/0009/ earlier pages]] have a simpler and rougher appearance than [[http://westwardcomic.com/strips/0549/ later ones]], though [[http://westwardcomic.com/comic.php?itemid=6 many of them]] have a certain charm precisely because of that cleaner, simpler approach.

* ArtEvolution: The [[http://westwardcomic.com/comic.php?itemid=10 earlier pages]] have a simpler and rougher appearance than [[http://westwardcomic.com/comic.php?itemid=889 later ones]], though [[http://westwardcomic.com/comic.php?itemid=6 many of them]] have a certain charm precisely because of that cleaner, simpler approach.

Read it [[http://westwardcomic.com/ here]], start from the beginning [[http://westwardcomic.com/comic.php?itemid=3 here]], or view the entire first episode (caution -- may take a bit of time to load!) [[http://westwardcomic.com/comic.php?special=episode01 here]].

* MCEscher: [[FasterThanLightTravel Escherspace]] is a reference to his work, of course. ''Relativity'' specifically is used to illustrate the concept in a {{newsreel}}.

A [[SciFiWebcomics Science Fiction webcomic]] by Elliot Toman, ''Westward'' is an old-fashioned SpaceOpera and {{Adventure}} story about humanity's first [[FasterThanLightTravel faster-than-light]] starship, the brave colonists it carries, the mysterious Martian scientist who guides it, and a cynical IntrepidReporter who stumbles across a mystery of cosmic proportions.

Set in an AlternateHistory where the ColdWar never ended and humanity reached Mars by [[TheSeventies the 1970s]], ''Westward'' has a unique visual style, a wide cast of engaging characters, and a plot that takes its readers from dead alien worlds to mysterious spaceborne artefacts to a seemingly unremarkable Western town all without losing its impact, its sense of adventure, or its ability to keep everyone guessing and glued to the screen with every page.