The Worst Dudes #1: A Raunchy Space Adventure

Any book with the warning, “WARNING: This book contains ODIOUS LANGUAGE, WANTON DRUG USE, WILLFUL VIOLENCE, UNABASHED LECHERY, and generally loathsome behavior,” is a book for me. The Worst Dudes #1 is a fast-paced, space-opera-fever-dream worthy of its own 15-minute block on Adult Swim. If anyone from Adult Swim is reading this, make it happen. 

We have all heard it before: a detective hired by a wealthy client to find and bring in a dirty family secret, so they can deal with it, but make it an absurd and raunchy space adventure. The familiar premise leaves plenty of room to get creative and bold. Sam Sugar is a hardened detective hired by the  20-foot Imperial Queen to track down the illegitimate daughter of the Storm King, her husband, who just so happens to be a giant lightning-filled storm cloud. Sam’s coworker, Uulukan, is the one who brings Sam to the Queen. The reader is introduced to Uulukan through a video call suspended in straps pinching their own nipples, while Sam is interrogating some type of anthropomorphic seal with a smiley face and rainbow on their chest. It’s the type of interrogation that would feel at home in a Punisher comic but without half the style. As bonkers as this may sound, these are just the opening pages and not the strangest thing to happen in the issue. 

This is the type of content you can look forward to in The Worst Dudes #1. The two other characters we are introduced to are the Queen’s son, a spoiled prince with little patience and a mean punch, and Cal, a big pink anthropomorphic lion and the prince’s sister’s ex. Just a few places you can look forward to seeing in this issue are a galactic nightclub located on a comet called The Wet Spot and a rehabilitation facility called Carousel Recovery Center. The world of The Worst Dudes has everything you need.

In addition to Aubrey Sitterson’s insanely enjoyable writing, I can’t picture this book being half as fun without Tony Gregori’s pencils and Lovern Kindzierski’s colors. Vibrant colors and visuals pair well with the over-the-top characters and action. Gregori’s cover somehow encapsulates enough of the raw zaniness of the issue to make readers want to grab it off the rack the very moment they see it.