Ho Hamsters! - An Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters Fan Site: Review - Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters: Volume 1, Issue 9

Titled “Reminiscing”, the original series draws to a close in the form of flashbacks…

Issue Number: 9

Publisher: Eclipse Comics
Publication Date: January, 1988

Writer: Don Chin

Art: Sam Kieth and Sam De la Rosa
Cover Art: Brent Anderson
Editor: Letitia Glozer
Editor-in-Chief: Catherine Yronwode
Publisher: Dean Mullaney

“Bruce and the Magic Sax”

Writer: Don Chin and Chuck Fiala
Letterer: Kurt Hathaway

“Hamsters Cancelled”

Writer: Ken Meyer Jr.
Letterer: Kurt Hathaway

“Disciples of Discipline”

Uncredited but Unmistakable: Parsonavich

“Adolescent Radioactive Big Butt Hamhocks”

Writer: Mark Martin

Credited Art Gallery Contributors:
Herb Wood
Ron Lim
Sam De La Rosa
Ken Meyer, Jr.
Dringenberg

Other contributors:
Ty Templeton
Bryan Robles

Cover Price: $2.00
Current Price: $7.43

Preface - Penumbra

This Prenumbra features an errata guide for comparison with Overstreet. Kind of interesting to look at, but doesn’t have any bearing on this particular issue.

Story

This story is “Reminiscing”.

There’s not much to the story. It just shows the hamsters as they were in the last issue, all split up. Each of them is thinking about things, and that is the pretense to show three mini-stories. And then it ends. There is no resolution given to the supposed death of Bruce.

The first mini-story is “Bruce and the Magic Sax”.

Bruce buys a magic saxophone that is supposed to attract women. Instead, it attracts female dogs. He goes back to the store and exchanges it for another to repel the dogs. Except this one attracts giant chickens.

The next story is “Hamsters Cancelled” (I think).

Clint applies to be in a movie by Parody Press Pictures. He is fitted for wardrobe, and then dropped from a helicopter. A fire-breathing dragon attacks him, and then he gets stuck in quicksand. He is pulled out by Queenpin, who then punches him out. He looks up to see the next person he will face: Petrov the Panda. Then, crying “enough!”, Clint breaks the fourth wall and complains directly to the comic illustrator, who doesn’t take very well to the criticism.

The last story is called “Disciples of Discipline”.

Chuck complains that the four Hamsters have gotten soft since they left Tibet, and proposes that they read some Zen classics to get back in the right frame of mind. While Jackie plots to get pudding, Chuck reads the story, entitled “Nansen Kills a Cat”. It is a parable (hopefully!) intended to provoke deep philosophical thought and discussion, which it does. The story ends with Jackie getting his pudding, Chuck clubbing Clint, and Parsonavich exiting the panel.

Back-Up Feature

There is a great story at the end by Mark Martin called “Adolescent Radioactive Big Butt Hamhocks”.

A Parody of a Parody? Or a Parody of a Parody of a Parody???

This story is a rip-off of the Hamsters. It doesn’t need to be described here, other than to say that it is quite funny.

New Characters:

- Emilio – Wardrobe designer

- A.J. Brillo – Helicopter pilot, with links to Clint’s past

- Queenpin – Transvestite crime queen, main villain of the “Hamster Triumphant” miniseries.

- Petrov the Panda – An actor with a striking resemblance to one “Boris the Bear”.

- Nansen and Shoshu – Fictional(?) monks

- Cure 81, Knuckles, Football, and Clint – The Adolescent Radioactive Big Butt Hamhocks

- Sergeant, Gomer, Luann, Miss Bunny, Esther, Bubba, Sanford, and Sonny – Santa’s reindeer(?)

- The Silver Silkworm – A new kind of hero.

- Little Lord Rosenberg – A little brat who gets what he deserves.

Review

After issue #8, this issue is a breath of fresh air. It’s got a lot of content, and you can tell that it actually has some heart put into it. The only bad part about it is that it does nothing to resolve the “Death of Bruce” storyline. It totally leaves that thread hanging. But oh well. The rest of the comic is good. It re-injects humor into the series, which is much appreciated!

There’s nothing to say about the main story of “Reminiscing”, as there really isn’t any story there. It’s just bookends to the mini-stories.

“Bruce and the Magic Sax” fell a little flat for me for two reasons. One, the art style is really, really off. It is unlike anything shown before in the series. Super cartoony, and doesn’t fit very well. The other reason I didn’t like it is because it wasn’t funny. Usually when the Hamsters are funny, it’s because of witty / clever things that they say. That’s not to be found here. So that one’s a bit of a dud for me, I’m sorry to say.

The next is “Hamsters Cancelled”. This one I liked, mainly because it is a call back to the many times throughout the series that the Hamsters have broken the fourth wall, and the illustrator has been depicted. It is pretty funny to me to see that happen again. And the art was really nice here, too. The only thing I didn’t like is that they stopped before I could see another epic Boris the Bear (excuse me, “Petrov the Panda”) throwdown, but it’s good all the same. [Note: The Hamsters and Boris have had somewhat of a long-running feud, which is fun to see pop up in each others' comics every now and then.]

“Disciples of Discipline” features the return of Parsonavich, with his art looking as weird as ever. It’s a funny tale to me, just because it is so needlessly and unexpectedly violent. It cracked me up, exactly as intended. Well done!

The back-up feature, “Adolescent Radioactive Big Butt Hamhocks”, was quite funny! It had me laughing aloud several times. This I didn’t expect, as this was the author of “Ronnie and Gorby”, which I didn’t like at all. And indeed, Ronnie makes another appearance here. But fortunately, it is brief. There are a lot of funny moments in this bit, not to mention this part:

It again ends in an unexpectedly violent fashion, which again, cracked me up. (Maybe this says more about me than the comics? Haha!) The whole feature was quite enjoyable, and was an excellent send off.

Favorite Moments

- Great cover artwork! One of the best.

- I enjoyed seeing humor back in the comic again.

- It was awesome to see Parsonavich’s artwork again.

- Although I am a cat lover, it was hilarious to see what happened to the cat in the story (I will not spoil that here!).

Memorable Dialogue / Hamsterisms:

- “Hey, this gives me an idea! What originality! What verve! What genius! A book for mutant fans and coin collectors around the globe! It’s Fluorescent Post-Atomic Quarantined Quarters!” – Ken Meyer, Jr.

- “Ah, the story is an insight into the nature of Zen, when juxtaposing the action of Nansen to the reaction of Shoshu… I am left with the undeniable conclusion that… uh… that… That… Uh… This is a buncha garbage!” – Clint

Random Thoughts

While I was not thrilled to see the “Death of Bruce” storyline seemingly dropped for the last issue, this was still a solid final issue. It is quite good.

It is worth noting that while this issue does mark the end of the original series, it does not mark the end of the “Death of Bruce” story. That story is continued / concluded in the one-shot comic “Target: Airboy”, which I will be reviewing next. Stay tuned – more to come!

Hamster Droppings:

It is nice to see Don Chin explain why the comic was cancelled. Here is what he said about it:

     “THE LONG GOODBYE… is what this issue of ARBBH is, my friends. If you haven’t heard or guessed, I’m sad to announce that this is the last regular issue for the furry foursome.
     One may ask, “Why is the book being cancelled, Don?”
     Well, it was my personal choice to end the series. I felt that I couldn’t take the book any further as an especially entertaining comic, and I would never give you folks an uninspiring story that I wouldn’t enjoy reading myself!
     I also chose to end the book because an unhealthy recent trend in the comic book market has made it difficult to make a living, much less a profit, producing such a book. And those’re the facts.
     Though I am sorry to see this series end, I’m really happy that I got to meet the people I did and get introduced into the wonderful wacky world of professional comic books!
     Two years ago, I came up with a weird notion that spoofing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles might be a good idea for a comic book. Little did I dream that my idea would blossom into an “overnight sensation” that has sold over 500,000 copies and was even mentioned on national TV shows and in several newspapers! I would never have dreamed of getting so many fan letters and phone calls of appreciation for my first professional endeavor, or getting the opportunity to work with some of the finest artists in the industry in my first year as a ‘rookie’. Wow. It just goes to show you that dreams do come true… just like Mickey Mouse says. (Corny, but true!)
     And none of it would have happened without YOU and your support. I want to especially thank you and everyone else who read the Hamsters for your letters, calls, drawings, photographs, orders, and everything else. A better group of fans will not be found anywhere!”

He then goes on to individually thank the people involved in making the comic. Heartfelt words. There’s not much to say after reading that. It all makes sense.

Letters Page Contributors / Hamster Hall of Fame:

Here are all the people that Don Chin individually thanks for their part in the creation of this comic:

Parsonavich
Sam Kieth
Dean Mullaney
Cat Yronwode
Letitia Glozer
Kurt ‘Ace’ Hathaway
Herb (Chip) Wood
Ken Meyer, Jr
Mike Dringenberg
Sean Deming
Fred Burke
Sam De La Rosa
Jerry Epperson
Kevin Harville
Mark Martin
Ty Templeton
Cindy Martin
Gerald Forton
Tom Sutton
Jon Dooley
Chuck Fiala
Ray Zone
Lee Hester
Dennis Owens and family

Art Gallery

There is a nice art gallery that follows at the end of the book. Some of these show up as covers of reprints, or other Hamster editions. It is very cool stuff!