Finally an Heir to The Secret of NIMH?

The Underfoot Vol. 1 by Ben Fisher and Emily Whitten is a story of smart hamsters that are given the mission to destroy a beaver dam before it floods their allies the badgers. As an unconditional fan of The Secret of NIMH, with which I grew up as a kid, I could not pass that graphic novel. The hamsters geared up to the teeth, ready to attack and defend and break through traps added to a history of human experiments on animals were just too tempting. The new twist is that this is a dystopian universe and the humans have been wiped out.

The graphics are very well made, despite a large crew of hamsters we can easily distinguish all of them. The action is clear, and there is a real world created between those pages. 10 to 14 years old should really enjoy this one. Courage, team work, looking beyond the first impressions and learning to listen are very important values of this work - interwoven with all the action and rising tension, it’s a nice work to put in the hands of the younger set.

This isn’t as mystical and mysterious and magical as NIMH. After all there isn’t the scope for a first volume of a graphic novel to cover as much as a whole book. But there are hints to more being there than meets the eye. And there are a lot of darker moments that will get your young reader go through roller coasters. The stakes are very high and the sad parts are going to take some by surprise and pull them down. So I guess there is a bit of a warning for the more sensitive young readers out there.

I am looking forward to reading the next volume - but my real opinion depends on what choices and the directions that next volume goes into “The Underfoot” is for all the fans of the old Disney “The Rescuers”, and maybe the very odd Japanese light novel “From the New World”, though that last one was definitely more late teen (“From the New World” was far more shocking in its reveals and treatment of people and smart animals).

I received an eARC of this book from Oni Press. It has not affected my honest review.

This was really fun. I requested it on a complete whim because I wanted something cute and I liked the cover. I'm looking forward to reading volume 2 now because I'm super attached to these adorable (and badass) hamsters.

I liked the way that the worldbuilding unravelled slowly over the course of the graphic novel as familiar elements were woven into the story. I sometimes found the hamster's versions of things (seedees = cds) a bit confusing, deciphering those is not my strong suit at the best of times, but I didn't mind it overall. All of the characters were super cute and loveable, with distinct personalities and really sweet relationships. I'm looking forward to finding out more about this world. It's an excellent fun read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Oni Press for my copy of The Underfoot Vol. 1 The Mighty Deep by Ben Fisher, Emily S. Whitten in exchange for an honest review. It published April 23, 2019.
I thought the premise of this was really unique and that the illustrations were really well-done. I was glad to see a book about hamsters!

The Underfoot follows a group of genetically enhanced hamsters, or the H.A.M., as they fight evil and keep their home safe.
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While I liked parts of this graphic novel, it had a lot of issues. Most notably, I couldn’t keep any of the characters straight. There were too many of them that looked similar and it ultimately made it difficult to truly get invested into the story. The only character I can remember is Ruby, and I love her character!
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The art style was also gorgeous! You can tell that a lot of time and effort went into it!
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Overall too many characters and a disjointed plot made this not one of my favorite reads.
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TW- gore(slight), violence(moderate)
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was like reading a post-apocalyptic Redwall meets Rats of NIMH! Really fun, beautifully illustrated and colored- visually a huge success! The story line was similarly engaging, with a cast of loveable characters who have a delightful chemistry and a history the reader only catches glimpses of based on their interactions, but still manages to fully develop them.

The world building on one hand is easy to grasp- it is Earth and therefore familiar, but on the other hand leads to many questions: where are the humans (the "giants that were"), has there been an apocalyptic event, a natural disaster?

Some of the action scenes were surprising violent/graphic, but not upsettingly so... they just caught me off guard when first starting and still unsure of the target audience. (Young adult to adult, I would think). The use of animal characters made the story appealing to a nostalgic familiarity (Redwall, NIMH, Watership Down), while the subject of survival in a world left behind appeals to a present day climate crisis anxiety, with young characters just coming into their roles, and older characters bringing their history/experience/knowledge to the situations.... at age 34 I feel like my age lends to establishing a balanced connection to all parts of the story.

Hamsters! Hamsters everywhere!

We follow a post-apocalytic, intelligent hamster clan -- some with extra-sensory powers -- as they struggle to survive in the Great Wide, aka, outside their burrow. Think Watership Down meets The Secret of Nimh, but the burrow has electricty run by glowing mushrooms, and all the humans (known as the Giants-that-Were) are dead or missing. So the hamsters must do what they can to survive, and that means fighting fin and scale and flat-tails to attempt to blow up a beaver-dam to try and save their home from flooding waters. It isn't entirely clear. But there's an X-Men type hamster school, and lots of conflicting hamster lore, and just when you think you're getting a sense of who's who in this big cast of hamsters... more and more hamsters keep showing up. And even more conflicting lore.

Other than a few major players, the cast is too big to really get to know any of the little furry guys that well across these first six issues. The story is focusing more on the world-building than the character work, which, fine, because there's a lot going on here, but I hope we dive a bit deeper into who these hamsters are. It's a little early to tell them apart right now. The art isn't that distinctive and a bit confusing. But it is endearing and I'm going to move onto volume 2.

3.5 / 5

The Underfoot follows a group of evolved hamsters as they try to stop a flooding from happening. I enjoyed the premise, but it just wasn’t for me.
The art was perfect for the story, and I especially loved the small details like the different breeds of hamster.
I felt that it was hard to know which character was which for the most part of the story. The plot, for me, didn’t make any sense and, at times, felt out of order. Moreover, the side plot with the rogue hamster and the crab was pointless in my opinion.
Also, for a middle grade book, I felt like there was too much violence in the scene with the snake.
Overall, I believe that for the target audience, it might be too violent and confusing.

Never thought I'll have tears seeing dying hermit crab.
This was a really nice and clever anthropomorphic story, I had fun reading this, each of the characters (hamsters) has its personality. There are different breeds of them, old and young, brave and fearful. There's a really hairy one who has a lisping problem. Going on the mission to accomplish, they have to defeat snakes and lizards, fish and eagles (some of the parts were bloody, I did not expect that in the book like this). The artwork is lovely and fits the story perfectly. It surprised me pleasantly and I will definitely read the second volume.

Review to come Feb 4th on blog/Goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

When I saw this book I was intrigued. Hamsters? OK, I love hamsters. Then I read the blurb, checked out a preview, and decided that I just had to read it. It sounded to me like Rescue Rangers meets Redwall and I am totally in for that!

Since I am tired and feeling fluffy (not in a good way), I will do a good/not so good review.

First up, good!

*I love that they are called Hamster Aquatic Mercenaries, aka HAM. That is just perfection and I was giggling at it, but in a good way of course! Later we also see another HAM, Hamster Airborne Mercenaries! OH MY, flying hamsters! YAS! And then at the end we also have another HAM group. OH MY, how many are there?
*I was delighted that the hamsters had a matriarch to lead them! It made me smile so much!
*Yes, for a map being added. Even two of them! We get an overview on the world and one for the hamsters and where they live.
*Loved the dossier at the beginning with information on the various kinds of hamsters.
*There is a training class for the pups, I would like to have seen more classes, because I am curious what these little ones are learning. I can guess the basics given how the Hamsters are battling all sorts of things (this is again based on how most of the older hamsters look).
*The test, OH MY, that is just so much fun, though it also sounds very hard.
*Getting character profiles was a great addition!
*I liked that they were friends/or at least allies with a cat. Haha, I was so startled when that popped out of the bushes.
*The action scenes were explosive and WOW.
*While not the biggest fan, I did like seeing Beck's journey and I could also understand why he had to take that journey.
*I had a big laugh at what the hermit crab said at one point when Beck said he was a nobody: "How can he think that about himself... when he has such a nice belt?"
*I liked the variety in hamsters. From very hairy to not so much hair. From bulky to fat to slender to tiny.
*Ruby was a great character (awesome fixer and trapsmith) though I felt sorry for the little fella, I mean they just wanted to go home and I don't blame them. All that happens in this book it can be a bit too much for a first mission.
*The ending was really nicely done. I cannot go in deeper for the sake of spoilers, but I enjoyed it. I think it tied all the things up but made room for the next volumes.

Mixed:
*The art. At times I quite liked it, though I found the older hamsters a bit too gruesome looking. I get that this is a grittier hamster universe, but still it just hurt my hamster loving heart seeing them so full of scars and pain.
*This is the first volume, yet at times I felt as if I had missed an introduction somewhere. That is a problem I have had with other American graphic novels. Later on we do get information, but sorry, I would have liked it earlier.
*The text was blurry at times, especially the in between extras (the files) weren't always easy to read. Which is a shame. Can we please make ebooks/ARCs without blurriness? Shouldn't be so hard to just upload a good file? Right?
*The newsarticles. Eh. I didn't really see what they had to do with the story so in the end I just skipped that when they popped up.


All in all, I am happy that I read this graphic novel. At times a bit too gritty for me, as a hamster lover I just prefer my hammies to be cute and not scared and gritty. But in overall this was an action-packed volume, and I am kind of curious about the second volume. Maybe I will also request that from Netgalley.. we will see.

I may or may not have cried a little...

This was reaaaly good. I liked the story, the characters, the art! All of it.

Note, though, that there are some... bloody scenes, so if you are looking to get this for a very young child, just know that there are things to be aware of.

Otherwise, this was amazing!

I've been looking for a book series for my young reader to step up his reading level. Something that would match the shows he watches on TV and the games he plays on Nintendo. This is perfect. Yes, there is some violence and a little gore, but no more than you see on the 6 o'clock news. My grandson says this is "awesome" and that's enough for me.

Amazing art, and I love that this is a darker fantasy comic for children.

I see a lot of stuff that's so cutesy but kids don't always want that. Variety!

Also, I love hamsters.

It's quite violent, and a little gory (blood and body parts being shot), so it's definitely for older kids (ages 7+ I'd say???).

A book I really never took to, this features some hamsters who are training young hamsters to be ninjas in time to demolish a beaver dam before it floods out some badgers. Yup. It's an amalgam of animal adventure and interminable training montage, where every joke falls flat, every page is filled with unnecessary arguing for the sake of character and action, and – well, I don't know. I immediately grew a dislike to it and never found any opposing emotion. And then promptly forgot all about it until I clicked 'download' on it in error when the sequel hit the netgalley shelves and made it available again.

This unfortunately is a flop for me. It had too many flaws for me to be able to enjoy it. I was expecting a more Sci-Fi/futuristic REDWALL. I would also like to point out that I am not the target audience but I usually enjoy Middle-Grade. My issues start with how the graphic novel starts. It jumps right into the action and story with no character introduction. Because of that, I found it difficult to get invested in the story or the characters. It honestly felt like the story was out of order. We immediately get thrown into the action and then it just stops to finally mention characters. I will say that the color pallete was well done and beautiful. The illustrations were interesting to look at. Overall I feel that this was too ambitious and not executed in a manner that would succeed for a critical reader. This would be great for the age it was intended for: middle grade. This is action packed and sure to keep them interested throughout.

Awesome! The art looks good and the characters are so funny! Please be aware that some action scene can get a bit "gorry" nothing too bad of course, but if you're very sensitive about it for yourself or your children then be "careful". A lot of fun!

This book reminds me a lot of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM, except the animals featured in this book are hamsters. Humanity or the Giants-That-Were has disappeared. They left behind animals that they experimented on that became intelligent. The hamsters of H.A.M. have been hired by badgers to destroy a dam that is close to flooding their dens. Along the way, they discover they are not the only hamster survivors.