From the Author: Westward Book + Reviews

 Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2012 As Westward reaches the halfway point of its story, the time seems right to finally offer a collection of the comic in print form! Formatting on Volume One is nearly complete, and now I need your help.

Volume1_FrontCover.jpg
The most important part of Westward is its readers, and I'd like to feature your reviews on the back and inside covers. To write a review, simply post it as a comment to this article, and make sure to include a name and location! If you prefer, you can also send it to me in an email at ettoman@westwardcomic.com.

The review can be anything from a sentence to a paragraph. Tell the world why you read Westward!

Archive:

  • February 20, 2013 From the Author: Westward: Volume One
  • July 22, 2012 From the Author: The Challenge
  • June 14, 2012 From the Author: Westward Book + Reviews
  • March 25, 2012 Inspiration: Relics of the World's Fair
  • March 19, 2012 Poll: How Often Do You Read Westward?
  • March 15, 2012 Inspiration: Telecommunications Services for the 1990's
  • March 03, 2012 Inspiration: The Millionare - Soviet Cartoon, 1963
  • February 26, 2012 Poll: What is the Source of the Signal?
  • January 27, 2012 From the Author: Look! Up in the sky!
  • January 08, 2012 Inspiration: New York World's Fair: IBM Pavilion
  • December 27, 2011 From the Author: Goggles!
  • December 18, 2011 Inspiration: New York World's Fair: Festival of Gas
  • December 06, 2011 Westward Development: Westward Concept Art
  • December 03, 2011 Fan Art: A Cubicled Thorblaxian
  • November 23, 2011 Westward Development: There's Something About Alice
  • August 21, 2011 Poll: Do Westward readers like Star Trek?
  • June 24, 2011 Poll: Will there be zombies in Episode Three?
  • June 18, 2011 From the Author: Video Trailer for Westward: Weight of Ages
  • June 12, 2011 Poll: Is Francis Carter a good captain?
  • January 01, 2011 From the Author: Video Trailer for Westward: Epiphany
  • December 25, 2010 From the Author: Westward: Year One
  • November 04, 2010 From the Author: Welcome to Westward
  • July 26, 2010 From the Author: Westward Discussion Forum
  • July 06, 2010 From the Author: Westward Year .5
  • July 05, 2010 Fan Art: Guest Artwork by Robert Lopez
  • July 04, 2010 Fan Art: Guest Artwork by Steve Thompson
  • June 30, 2010 From the Author: Weight of Ages: Introduction
  • June 16, 2010 From the Author: Epiphany and Beyond
  • May 30, 2010 From the Author: Website Changes

    • 35 Comments:

    Mykhajlo Halenbak / Uzhhorod, Ukraine:
    Westward is as compelling in its oustanding artwork as it is challenging in its storytelling. And by challenging, I mean that it really requires the reaader to think - both backwards at what they have already read, forwards to what lies ahead for the characters and to also contemplate the intertwining forces which have set the story and it players into position. It's classic sci-fi and cosmic mystery novel all in one, and will not disappoint the reader looking for a good story supported by what is often brilliantly-rendered art!
    bay area john:
    Not a review, but a comment... the reader comments have certainly more than doubled my enjoyment and involvement in WESTWARD. It would be a shame to lose all that in the print version...
    admin:
    I agree that the comments are half the fun. The trade-off for losing them in a print version—or in the "Episode" view on this site, even—is an easier to follow narrative.

    In case you're worried, though, I have no intention of phasing out westwardcomic.com or its comments. Even when the story has concluded, it will remain important as context for the next one.
    Steve T:
    Really looking forward to the print version! A mini-review:

    Westward combines a unique and elegant art-style with strong story and compelling characters. This science-fiction tale weaves elements of mystery, horror and psychology together to create a wholly outstanding and exciting vision. The dialogue has the clever, lean tones of a hard-boiled detective novel, interspersed with wit and intelligence. There honestly isn't anything else like this out there. If this sounds like hyperbole, it isn't. Just the truth. Read it now!
    admin:
    Thanks, Steve! And nice to hear from you again. :) May I include your www.me-on-scenes.blogspot.com/ URL in the review credit?
    Steve T:
    I always check out the comic, even if I don't comment. Still a fan! Yes, you can include that website, since I got asked to do film reviews it's the one place I update regularly these days. Or my twitter account.
    Love the book cover as well!
    bay area john:
    About the cover... Looks like Rosemary's carrying some extra junk in her trunk... and the poses make it look more like space ballet than space opera.
    Steve T:
    I like the cover, I think the fact they look like they're dancing apart is one interpretation of what happens to them.

    And as for her behind, I happen to like that look ;)
    bay area john:
    I think the cover is appealing, but more engaging to those of us who already know the story than it will be to the westless. I'd think some visuals of the ship, maybe Phobos, would draw a curious eye more than this.
    Steve T:
    I hope this isn't taken as a slight (and it shouldn't be because I like the film) but when I think of a movie version of Westward I can't help thinking of the look and feel of Prometheus, particularly in some of the planetary scenes. I know Westward is more colourful but there is some tremendous use of colour in Prometheus too.
    Homunclus:
    "1999 - The year we break free" - Set, curiously enough, on the recent past, Westward tells the tale of earth's first faster-than-light spaceship and of the intrepid pioneers that board it. What presents itself as a "simple" voyage to explore the unknown universe, soon reveals itself to be a far darker and unexpectedly complicated affair, as our heroes find themselves navigating not only through star systems and planets but as well as through their deep seeded interpersonal conflicts, while in the background a conspiracy with consequences that may encompass the multi-verse itself unfolds. Ultimately leading to the conclusion that no matter how far you go, and how fast you get there, you can never truly escape...also, there is a big-headed Martian - Random Internet guy, Portugal
    bay area john:
    I so very much prefer the style and content of the "Episodes" art page to this cover art.

    A review:
    WESTWARD is a dense, epic alternate-history chronicle of human colonization of deep space. An Earth that might be ours is transformed in a mysterious World-War-II ending cataclysm that triggers leaps of technology and intrigue. A lone Martian guides settlers on a secretly urgent mission that slowly reveals itself through unexpected alliances, tragedy, aliens, spies, and most of all, the human spirit. Author and illustrator E. Toman leaps across time in both mental and physical twists, but through it all holds character-driven realism at the fore. Drawn in an unusually clear and colorful style that might be alternate-universe manga, Toman’s work satisfies the eye and challenges the mind. While the author has called it “Buffy meets Star Trek”, WESTWARD has the sweeping scope of a “Babylon 5” multi-year story plan and the elusive but compelling mind games of “Fringe”. Religiously published five days a week for over two years as the story nears its mid-point, WESTWARD has a growing trope of faithful “pioneers” who match wits daily in the reader commentary, exposing unlimited possibilities and alternate futures even as they augment the storyline with analysis and pet names for emerging hazards. If you are up to the challenge, WESTWARD will reward you and make itself an addiction.
    admin:
    Thank you, Homunclus! And John, for your honest opinions as always. I'm still sorting out design for the book, and I appreciate your perspective on it.
    Meh.Aloe:
    Ahhh Westward is a good webcomic and it is... good!

    I panicked!

    D:

    Must... think...
    admin:
    I love how seriously all of you are taking my request for reviews with detailed analyses—and it's deeply edifying to know that I've accomplished my goals as a storyteller for you. But don't panic, Meh.Aloe! It's just a cartoon. :D
    Meh.Aloe:
    Westward is space opera at its best. With an intriguing plot, well-written characters, and an original art style, this alternate-history comic is quite unlike any other work I've come across. Reading Westward feels a bit like watching a good old-fashioned science fiction show on television, but the plot is one you've never seen before. You'll visit some places familiar to any fan of speculative fiction -- dead alien civilizations, secret underground laboratories, parallel universes -- but the twists, turns, and new perspectives Westward offers are a breath of fresh air, unique, exciting, and engrossing. I look forward to finally being able to own a part of Westward in deadtree format, and would heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys good science fiction -- this is a story well worth an investment, both of your time, and of a small quantity of your dollars.

    - Meh Aloe, from the Internet

    I... I hope at least one of these reviews is good!
    Meh.Aloe:
    Or you can just use a little blurb saying "NOT JUST A CARTOON!" :P
    Meh.Aloe:
    As to the image we are seeing here, it is very beautiful. I am not sure whether it'd be a good cover for a book or not -- its simple, crisp lines and attractive design would make it stand out, I think. The always-unique visual style of Westward comes through here, and is eye-catching. It's something different, which is good.

    I don't know if this picture is meant to, or will, become the final cover of the book, but I think it's a pretty good one if it does; I'd say something like the episode covers would actually work *less* well as the cover of the book as a whole: Those covers are beautiful, and are awesome for us long-time readers since we can pick out details in the cover as they become relevant; to the uninitiated, an image in the same style as the chapter covers might look crowded, busy, or a bit of an info-overload.

    Besides, minimalist design is very "in" right now.
    Meh.Aloe:
    Though I do have to admit that in this image, Wells' pose is veeery slightly reminding me of the Escher Girls... :P (Not that it's nearly that egregious, of course!)
    admin:
    Thank you for your lovely review, Meh.Aloe! And for your thoughts on the cover.

    It was pretty clear to me that, in devising a cover for the book (which will doubtless not be on any physical store shelves at this point), it would be impossible to summarize episodes 1-3 in any single image. Even a movie poster-style collage would seem to do an injustice, because I'd have to select three or four subjects while ignoring half a dozen others.

    There's also the issue of subject juxtaposition. An image of, say, Arizona next to Captain Carter with the swastika coin behind them would be so wildly incongruous that it would be confusing. It's only by investing in reading the story that one can begin to understand how the pieces fit together—which is one of the big risks that Westward takes in the first place.

    I tentatively selected the Rosemary/Rex illustration for the following reasons:
    1. It shows a woman and man and implies relational intrigue.
    2. It strongly implies both science fiction and supernatural elements.
    3. Rex appears in all three episodes as a central story element. Phobos would also meet this standard, but his visual role is as a looming, ominous, mysterious figure that makes less of an emotional connection.

    With these things in mind, does anyone have any alternative suggestions?
    admin:

    Wells' pose is veeery slightly reminding me of the Escher Girls...



    What are the Escher Girls? I'm going to refrain from a Google search on that one.
    Meh.Aloe:
    It is a (slightly NSFW) blog that shows and critiques the silly ways that women are sometimes portrayed in comics. It has shown, amongst other things, that it is popular in some comic art to show women in poses where their spine is unrealistically twisted so as to allow the artist to show off both the female character's posterior and her chest region at the same time, to a perhaps-uncomfortable extent, thus increasing the image's appeal to certain demographics. :P

    Of course, I don't think Wells here would at all fit onto that blog, since her spine does not look broken, and her space-suit is not a tiny two-piece space-bikini made out of metal. :P Her pose reminded me a little of the more exaggerated poses featured on that blog, however. But I probably should not have mentioned that. :P
    admin:
    I'm generally horrified by the depiction of women in mainstream comics—especially big-name superhero comics—which seem to be engineered to simultaneously interest and profoundly misinform adolescent boys as to the nature of women. I shudder to think that any work of mine resembles such a thing, and it certainly gives me pause for thought.
    Meh.Aloe:
    I may have gone too far in implying the resemblance! Please do not pause your thoughts! We need those!
    Steve T:
    Don't worry, your art doesn't resemble the immature scribblings of a certain band of mainstream artists who find it hard to depict anything close to a real women. But there are mainstream artists who get it right too. They're not all bad.

    But a Toman woman is strong and realistically proportioned and you're not afraid to make them unattractive either if need be.

    And I still like the cover. A lot.
    bay area john:
    Eric, have you thought about doing a Lucas and touching up some of the art in the early strips before you make the book? There's a few that really do no justice against your current skill. I'm looking at #4 and 6 with the little boy that almost hurts to compare with your work now. And #8 and 9 are jarring compared to the others (kids again!), and maybe 13 and 14 that showcase the cast but not how they will look in just a few more strips. The art starting with the ESCHERSPACE aside is quite a bit better overall. With a couple exceptions (mostly Rosemary's face), things smooth out and by about #50, your style stabilized and the characters on the whole look like the same people we know today.

    It would seem worth considering a few redraws, maybe only a dozen or so frames, to make the opening episodes feel as awesome as your later work... first impressions matter, and your later work is a visual joy.
    admin:
    I certainly have thought about it, John. I'm a perfectionist, after all. But the reason I started drawing Westward in the first place is because I'm a perfectionist.

    After years of writing the first chapter of one novel or another over and over again, it occurred to me that I was never going to succeed in telling a story unless I built in a mechanism to bypass my perfectionism. The daily comic format is that mechanism. It means that I have a certain amount of time every day to push the story forward and after that, I have to let it be what it is.

    If I were to go back and revise the early artwork (as many webcomic artists eventually do) I would quickly become my own worst enemy. Because there's never a point when the art, in my estimation, becomes "good enough." It can only ever be "good enough for today."

    And isn't that just like life?
    bay area john:
    Deadlines are good for progress and for finality, understood. The book is a new deadline with a new finality... your opportunity to leverage your completion strategy against a limited cleanup effort... perhaps. The book is like a life do-over. You get some new choices.
    Meh.Aloe:
    While some elements of the early art are a bit disconcerting (there's one panel where Lamont's typey-box hovers eerily in the air, for example), I like some elements of that early style. There was this clean, crisp sparseness to some of the scenes -- like some of the shots we got of the Westward's control room and of Frontier Town -- that was quite refreshing, unique, and enjoyable. It doesn't compare to the beauty of the later artwork, of course, but for some of it, at least, I'd be a little bit sad to see it go if Mr. Toman did choose to re-draw any of it.
    admin:
    I respect both your opinions. Ultimately, I think that revisions would be more impractical than not, for the following reasons:

    1) I have to be very careful with my time just to draw new strips.

    2) Trying to blend the art style from early Episode One into that of later strips would lead to madness quicker than you can say, "Ee-gah! Shub Niggurath! The Black Goat of the Woods with a thousand Young!"

    3) The Westward project is ultimately about moving forward.
    bay area john:
    Iä!

    Thank you for considering it. I respect your judgement as I respect your project. Which is saying a lot.

    And I can't say enough about how much more your style has progressed from illustration into art in the last several months. Kudos, all hard earned. We don't pay you enough.
    Meh.Aloe:
    This seems as good a time as any to mention that the link to this blog post that is located under the comic, below all the social media buttons ("Latest Blog: Westward Book + Reviews") does not work! It seems to be missing a .php: The link goes to "http://westwardcomic.com/blog?itemid=1314", which gives a bluehost 404 error, while this blog post itself is at "http://westwardcomic.com/blog.php?itemid=1314".
    admin:
    Thanks, Meh.Aloe! Thanks to you, it's working properly now.
    HumalaDuck:
    I missed this in my absence, and thus am (too?) late to the party. Even if it's merely academic, here's my review:

    "Needs more softball."
    --HumalaDuck
    Upstate-on-Hudson
    HumalaDuck:
    Ha ha! No, seriously, here's my entirely too wordy write-up:

    "Westward is one of my most favorite Webcomics. But seeing as you--curious yet undecided potential customer--and I don't know each other, listing the reasons why I think it's so good probably won't mean much. We have no frame of reference, no familiarity with each other's preferences and dislikes. It's entirely possible that we may like the same things in theory, but find that the practical application puts us at odds. To that end, what you really want from me is an answer to the question borne out of the common misconception that there is nothing new under the sun: 'What's it like?'

    "The heart of original Star Trek beats within a Lostian shell of constantly menacing enigma, seen through a veil of vacuumpunk. (Is that a thing? Pretend it's a thing.) There is more than a touch of Lovecraft, not simply because our protagonists repeatedly encounter decidedly inhuman forces with unnatural abilities, but because they are so woefully unprepared for them. There are no convenient phasers to blast trouble away, so they must simply roll to save again soiling their trousers, and then scramble to get out of Innsmouth alive, hoping against hope never to return.

    "Because this is only the first half of a story rife with underlying mysteries, there will be precious few answers within, only ever more clues. But I do hope you begin here, see that the originality of Westward defies even my own comparisons to other works, and become intrigued enough to see it through to the end."
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