Emmanuel Guilbert and Joann Sfar's wonderful series of children's comics "Sardine in Outer Space" recounts the icky, anarchistic adventures of Yellow Shoulder the Pirate and his space-crew of disobedient children who fight his arch-enemies, Supermuscleman and Doc Krok, two galactic baddies bent on brainwashing the Universe's orphans into being quiet, obedient, model children.
The storylines are wonderfully gross, chockablock with boogers and body fluids, and have many sly jokes for grownups who read these with their children. The space-themed adventures afford plenty of opportunity for absurdist humor (for example, the adventure of the baby rocket that's fallen out of its parents' nest), and the stories are refreshingly free of any moral or redeeming message, save that wild fun is its own reward.
At 100-or-so pages/volume, these are quick little reads, but they reward those who revisit them and pick up on the hidden gags and running jokes, and while they have a lot of heart, they're never maudlin or treacly. Highly recommended.
Link to Sardine in Outer Space 1
Link to Sardine in Outer Space 2
Link to Sardine in Outer Space 3
Link to Sardine in Outer Space 4
