Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters
Parody comic of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from 1986.
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Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters (ARBBH) is an American comic series created by Don Chin, owned by him, and part of the funny-animal parody genre. It joined a wave of spoofs inspired by Mirage Studios' popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which itself poked fun at 1980s comics like Frank Miller's Daredevil and Ronin. Other similar parodies included Naive Inter-Dimensional Commando Koalas and Pre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung-Fu Kangaroos. The series debuted in 1986 through Eclipse Comics, during a boom of black-and-white parody titles.
The initial artist was Patrick Parsons, working under the name Parsonavich. The series ran for nine issues. Starting with issue #6, Sam Kieth took over art duties. From issue #8, Mark Martin contributed backup strips, including the political satire *Ronnie & Gorby* and the layered parody *Adolescent Radioactive Big Butt Hamhocks*. The final issue featured work from Kieth, Martin, Chuck Fiala, and Ken Meyer, plus a pin-up gallery. A four-issue 3D limited series, drawn by Ty Templeton, and a spin-off solo series called *Clint* followed. The ongoing success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a multimedia franchise helped extend the Hamsters' run. A one-shot, *The Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters Massacre the Japanese Invasion*, further spoofed the influx of manga into America. The Hamsters also appeared in Eclipse's shared universe, showing up in the *Target: Airboy* special and the crossover *Total Eclipse*. The first four issues were collected into a trade paperback titled *Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters - America the Beautiful*.
Chin kept the rights to ARBBH, and later stories were published by Parody Press. On March 30, 2007, Dynamite Entertainment announced it had acquired rights to reprint the comics, produce new stories, and create collectibles. Keith Champagne wrote the new material, with art by Tom Nguyen. The first four-part miniseries ran from January to June 2008.
The plot begins in 1977, when NASA launched a space probe carrying four hamsters to destroy a hovering mass of radioactive, gelatinous substance near Earth. Exposure to this "Cosmic Jello" mutated them into three-and-a-half-foot-tall, anthropomorphic, talking hamsters. Their capsule crashed near a Tibetan monastery, where they were seen as fulfilling an ancient prophecy.
- Creator
- Don Chin
- First published
- 1986
- Publisher
- Eclipse Comics (initial), Parody Press, Dynamite Entertainment
- Genre
- Funny-animal parody comic
- Number of issues
- 9 (regular series), plus limited series and one-shots
- Notable artists
- Patrick Parsons (as Parsonavich), Sam Kieth, Mark Martin, Ty Templeton
Lore & Background
In 1977, NASA launched a space probe containing four hamsters to destroy a mysterious mass of radioactive, gelatinous substance hovering around Earth's atmosphere. Exposure to this 'Cosmic Jello' mutated them into three-and-a-half-foot tall anthropomorphic humanoid hamsters who could talk and stand upright. Their capsule crashed near a Tibetan monastery, where they were adopted by Master Lock and his fellow mystic warrior monks and trained in martial arts. They were then sent back to the United States to fight evil, though they often inadvertently caused as much chaos as the criminals they fought.
Reader's Guide
Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters is significant as part of the wave of black-and-white parody comics that followed the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the 1980s. Created by Don Chin, the series ran for nine issues from Eclipse Comics, with art by Patrick Parsons (under the pseudonym Parsonavich) and later Sam Kieth. It spawned a four-issue 3D limited series, a spin-off solo series titled Clint, and a one-shot parodying manga imports. The property was part of Eclipse's shared universe, appearing in Target: Airboy and the crossover Total Eclipse. After Eclipse, Chin retained rights and later published through Parody Press. In 2007, Dynamite Entertainment acquired reprint and new comic rights, publishing a four-part miniseries in 2008. The series received largely negative reviews, criticized for over-reliance on pop culture references and perceived lack of quality.
Did You Know?
- The four hamsters were named after actors Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee, and Jackie Chan.
- The series was one of several parodies of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, alongside Naive Inter-Dimensional Commando Koalas and Pre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung-Fu Kangaroos.
- The final issue of the regular series included work by Sam Kieth, Mark Martin, Chuck Fiala, and Ken Meyer, plus a pin-up gallery.
- When revived in the 21st century, the original quartet was joined by new hamsters named after Lucy Lawless, Dwayne Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Steven Seagal.
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