THE HERO OF HAMBLETT

Medieval spoofery--the protagonists are pigs--in comic-book form with animated-cartoon dialogue and gags. And, all told, not half bad. When, for instance, our hero Hamm has gotten himself the garb of a knight and aspires to rescue a princess from a dragon, she informs him--oh so graciously--that she's ""just another pig whose father happens to be king"" and dragon Perceval (""you must be very new around here"") ""has been my friend since I was a child."" There's some funny business in just about every frame--another resemblance to animated cartoons--which is achieved, moreover, by the combination of a snappy script and deft handling of the standard-comic-book conventions. The colors, too, are garish comic-book hues knowingly used. Murdocca's no Windsor McKay, maybe, but there's a lot more skill and inventiveness apparent here than in many orthodox books. And loads more entertainment.