Adrian (and Ali) on the left, Hilde on the right
A comic by Rick Griffin, of Housepets! fame. A&H Club
is the story of Adrian Gray, a kangaroo single mother who scrapes by teaching self-defense classes, and Hildegard Rothschild, a canine yoga instructor who works at the same fitness club.After Adrian and her son Ali are evicted from their apartment, Hilde offers to put them up at her place for a while. Little do either of them realize just what they're getting into.
The comic updated twice-monthly but is currently on hiatus. A print collection of the first three chapters was released in 2018, and a second volume containing the fourth and fifth chapters was released in 2023.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: When Adrian talks about her parents all we see is her as a child cowering next to a broken bottle while two shadowy figures argue. And from what we see of her ex it's probably fortunate he left before Ali emerged from the pouch.
- Action Girl: Adrian is an Action Mom who teaches a self-defense class. She demonstrates her fighting abilities in Chapter 3. As a kangaroo, she is fittingly a Kick Chick with powerful legs.
- Appropriate Animal Attire: Characters are bottomless at all times but wear clothing covering the top of their body.
- For the "Adults Dress More Fully Than Youngsters" subtrope, babies (like Ali) typically wear nothing.
- Author Appeal: Griffin's FAQ for the series uses this trope to explain the characters' bottomless lifestyle:Q: Why do none of the characters wear pants?A: Because it’s my story and I need to make it fun for me.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: The characters are depicted with featureless crotches.
- Big Damn Kiss: Adrian and Hilde kiss for the first time in Chapter 5, passionately embracing over several panels.
- Clothing Damage: A self-defense demonstration causes Adrian's sports bra to rip apart, leaving her nude.
- Costume-Test Montage: Hilde takes Adrian shopping for a new top in Chapter 3, and Adrian tries on a series of outfits.
- Covert Pervert: Eliza is... acting weirdly when it comes to Hilde's lesbian porno.
- Creator's Show Within a Show: Griffin's novel Traitors, Thieves, and Liars has been adapted into a movie in this universe.
- Darker and Edgier: When compared with Housepets!, this deals with more adult themes.
- Defeat by Modesty: In an inverted example, when Adrian's bra comes off during a fight, she is not ashamed, but instead continues a Full-Frontal Assault. Her opponent, however, becomes embarrassed and distracted, allowing Adrian to win.
- Domestic Abuse: Adrian's ex, Wyatt, was emotionally manipulative, and it's implied he pimped her out to his friends to pay for oxycodone. After he left Adrian quit oxy, realizing that he was causing much of the pain it suppressed.
- Double-Meaning Title: A&H club refers both to the Athletics and Health Club where the main characters work and their names Adrian and Hildegarde.
- Experimented in College: Inverted, Hilde had already decided she liked girls by the time she got to college, she experimented with guys instead.
- Exposed Animal Bellybutton: The comic's cast of Funny Animal characters have visible bellybuttons.
- From the Mouths of Babes: Ali's first word ends up being "bitch", after overhearing an argument between Hilde and someone else while Hilde was caring for him during Adrian's post-car crash hospital stay.
- The Fundamentalist: Eliza is a devout Christian who voices her disapproval of atheists, unwed mothers, and premarital sex. As the story progresses, she shows the potential to become more open-minded.
- Funny Background Event: Ali and the Car Salesman blowing raspberries at each other while Adrian and Hilde argue about buying an SUV.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Nobody wears pants in this comic, though exposed female breasts get a Scenery Censor. Humorously enough, clothes you would typically expect to be one piece such as dresses or overalls get cut off at the midriff. It's lampshaded without a hint of remorse on this page, where Hilde remarks that Eliza "wears the pants" in her relationship with Henry and then admits that she has no idea where that phrase even comes from.
- Holier Than Thou: Eliza is a devout Christian who voices her disapproval of atheists, unwed mothers, and premarital sex.
- Kangaroo Pouch Ride: Justified for Ali, as he's a joey kangaroo.
- Leave the Camera Running: Issue 4 starts with two of these in a row. First, three pages straight with a fixed camera facing only Adrian's front seat (including an entire page during which nothing happens but the Title Card). We see her car accident through this, then the camera shifts to another fixed perspective- Hildegarde's phone, ringing off the hook for two more pages as she moves around in the background.
- Lives in a Van: Adrian and Ali were living in her junker of a sedan for a few days before moving into Hilde's place.
- Nipple and Dimed: Desipte the fact that the characters are bottomless at all times and have no visible genitals or anuses, female characters' nipple areas are always covered or given a Scenery Censor.
- Non-Humans Lack Attributes: The Funny Animal characters in the comic are bottomless at all times, but have no visible genitalia. Additionally, they have no anuses despite having buttocks.
- This also applies to some of Griffin's ancillary paintings and sketches of the characters, which only officially exist attribute-free.
- Averted in some other ancillary art by Griffin which officially depicts the characters with attributes (genitals, anuses, nipples), often in sexual or suggestive situations.
- Zig-Zagged with some of the above-described ancillary art with attributes, for which Griffin has also created modified attribute-free versions. These modified versions include fully exposed, featureless breasts, in contrast to the concealment of female characters' nipple areas in the comic.
- Non-Mammal Mammaries: Every female character has rather prominent humanoid breasts, though Adrian also has mammaries in her pouch like a real life kangaroo and mentions Ali nursing from both sets.
- Porn Stash: Eliza finds Hilde's collection of adult videos, books, and sex toys. Eliza then borrows some to enjoy with her husband.
- Religious Edutainment: In an In-Universe example, Eliza shows a Christian puppet film to Ali.
- Scenery Censor: Used whenever female characters' nipple areas would otherwise be visible.
- Sleeping with the Boss: In chapter one Hilde has sex with the landlady of the club she and Adrian rent studio space from, leading to a quick discussion over whether that counts as "sleeping with the boss".
- Struggling Single Mother: Adrian struggles to balance raising Ali with her job and social life while keeping a roof over her head.
- Wardrobe Malfunction: A self-defense demonstration causes Adrian's sports bra to rip apart, leaving her nude.
- Will They or Won't They?: The story hints repeatedly at the possibility of Adrian and Hilde eventually becoming more than friends and roommates. They get a Relationship Upgrade at the end of chapter 4, and go on their first date in chapter 5.
