Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters

Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters, written by Don Chin and originally illustrated by Parsonavich and later by Sam Kieth, initially published by Eclipse Comics and later on by Parody Press and then Dynamite Entertainment, was the first unofficial spoof of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This puts it in the unusual class of "parody of a parody" as the TMNT started as a parody of the comic book Ronin.

Fictional biography

In 1977, NASA launched a probe containing four hamsters to destroy a mysterious mass of radioactive, gelatinous substance that was hovering above the atmosphere. Exposure to the substance mutated the hamsters into anthropomorphic creatures, whose vessel later crashed down near a Tibetan monastery; there, they were adopted by the monks and trained in the martial arts. The four of them are named after actors from action and kung fu movies: Clint (Eastwood), Chuck (Norris), Bruce (Lee), and Jackie (Chan).

Overview

The series ran for nine issues from 1986 through 1989. There were a number of spin-offs: Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters in 3-D (illustrated by Ty Templeton) ran for four issues in 1986 (also available in non-3D editions); Clint: Hamster Triumphant was a two issue series focusing on one of the hamsters; and Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters Massacre the Japanese Invasion was a one shot in 1989. The Hamsters also appeared in Total Eclipse and Naive Inter-Dimensional Commando Koalas. Don Chin went on to write and edit several other parody-themed works using the same style of humor.

On March 30, 2007, it was announced that Dynamite Entertainment has the rights to reprint the comics, write new comics, and produce collectables based on the property. It will be written by Keith Champagne with art by Tom Nguyen, and the first four-part miniseries began publication in January, 2008.

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