The Accidental Centaurs
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The Accidental Centaurs is a web comic created and drawn by John Lotshaw. It debuted on January 15, 2002. The art style appears to be heavily influenced by Phil Foglio.
The strip follows the ongoing adventures of Alex and Sam, two scientists from Earth who had been working on a teleportation system. During testing, the system explodes, opening a wormhole to an alternate universe. There, they find themselves transformed into centaurs (or, more accurately, transformed into something so strange that their minds perceive them as centaurs to protect their sanity). Their arrival is noted by the W!rxn, a race of omniscient beings that watch over the parallel universe, who believe them to be fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. They are given a ring which contains Lenny, a djinn who is supposed to be their guide and protector (but usually ends up insulting them more often than not).
In Book I: Lair of the Insectaurs, Sam is kidnapped by a hive of half-human/half-insect creatures. She is fed royal jelly and is transformed into a queen. Lenny and Alex attempt to rescue her, and are drawn into a web of intrigue between the insectaurs and spider-like beings that live in the catacombs under the insectaur hive.
A print edition of Book I, annotated by John Lotshaw, was originally scheduled for publication by Moonbase Press in February 2004 but was finally published in April. Book II is currently being posted to the site.
The strip went into hiatus in August 2004. Lotshaw claimed that the story would resume in October, but there were no further updates that month and at the end of it the site went offline temporarily, returning in mid-November. The story finally resumed on January 17 2005, accompanied by a site makeover. On March 7 Lotshaw announced a crossover story with The Wotch, assuring readers that the events of the crossover would be non-trivial and canon for both series. "Cover art" for the crossover appeared on both sites on March 21; the crossover story proper began on the Accidental Centaurs site on March 22, alternating between the two sites on successive days, Monday to Saturday, for two weeks.
External links
- The Accidental Centaurs (http://www.accidentalcentaurs.com) - site now restored
- Moonbase Press (http://www.moonbasepress.com/) - features a preview of the book.