animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
dark comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
created by comic book writer and cartoonist
Jhonen Vasquez
Jhonen C. Vasquez (; born September 1, 1974) is an American cartoonist, animator, screenwriter, music video director, and voice actor. He is best known for creating the comic book ''Johnny the Homicidal Maniac''—along with its spin-off comics ...
for
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim (voiced by
Richard Steven Horvitz
Richard Steven Horvitz (born July 29, 1966) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his voice work in animation and video games. His voice credits include the original Alpha 5 on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', ''Power Rangers Zeo'' an ...
), from the planet Irk, and his mission to conquer
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
and enslave the human race along with his malfunctioning robot servant GIR (
Rosearik Rikki Simons
Rosearik Rikki Allen Simons (born September 8, 1970) is an American voice actor, writer, cartoonist, and animator. He is best known as the voice of GIR in the Nickelodeon animated series, ''Invader Zim''. Simons has also written a number of nove ...
). He is antagonized by Dib (
Andy Berman
Andrew Mark "Andy" Berman (born February 24, 1968) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his role as Dib Membrane in ''Invader Zim'', Dennis in ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' (1996-1997), Chuck in ''The Wo ...
), a young
paranormal investigator
Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are reported to be haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity. Ghost hunters use a variety of ...
who is determined to stop Zim from succeeding.
Nickelodeon contacted
Jhonen Vasquez
Jhonen C. Vasquez (; born September 1, 1974) is an American cartoonist, animator, screenwriter, music video director, and voice actor. He is best known for creating the comic book ''Johnny the Homicidal Maniac''—along with its spin-off comics ...
about pitching ideas for an animated series for their older demographic and ''Invader Zim'' was the first thing he pitched. In Vasquez's words "it went from pitch to series without hardly any waiting". As the series went on, ratings declined and budgetary issues became more frequent. Before the second season was completed, Nickelodeon cancelled the series, leaving several episodes unfinished. The show originally aired on Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2002, with six of the completed second-season episodes initially going unreleased. These episodes were first made available on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
in 2004 and later made their television debut on the
Nicktoons Network
Nicktoons (formerly Nicktoons Network) is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Media Networks. The channel is geared towards children aged 7 to 11, and broadcasts reruns of original animated series from sister network Nickelode ...
in 2006.
''Invader Zim'' received positive reviews from critics and audiences, with praise primarily directed at its humor, writing, animation, art-style, and the way it pushed the boundaries of what was considered acceptable on children's television. In the years following its cancellation, ''Invader Zim'' has often been listed as one of Nickelodeon's best shows. The series won an
Annie Award
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...
, an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
and a World Animation Celebration Award, and received nominations for seven additional Annie Awards and two Golden Reel Awards. ''Invader Zim'' has spawned its own
fan convention
Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...
called InvaderCON and a plethora of official merchandise, including video games, toys, clothing and accessories, among many other products. Despite its early cancellation, due to increasing popularity and above-average merchandise sales it has been widely regarded as a
cult classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
.
A monthly
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series of the same name was released on July 8, 2015, as a continuation of the television series and published by
Oni Press
Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's merger with Lion Forge Comics. The merged company, Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Grou ...
until August 4, 2021. A
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on August 16, 2019.
Plot
The series centers on Zim (voiced by
Richard Steven Horvitz
Richard Steven Horvitz (born July 29, 1966) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his voice work in animation and video games. His voice credits include the original Alpha 5 on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', ''Power Rangers Zeo'' an ...
), a member of the extraterrestrial Irken species and the Irken Empire from the planet Irk. The
imperialistic
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic
...
empire's goal is universal conquest and has a
social hierarchy
Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political). As su ...
based solely on physical height. The empire's leader is called The Almighty Tallest; at the beginning of the series the position is jointly held by two equally tall individuals (
Wally Wingert
Wallace Eugene Wingert (born May 6, 1961) is an American voice actor. His roles include Almighty Tallest Red in ''Invader Zim'', Renji Abarai in ''Bleach'', Kotetsu T. Kaburagi / Wild Tiger in '' Tiger & Bunny'', The Riddler in the '' Batman: ...
and
Kevin McDonald
Kevin Hamilton McDonald (born May 16, 1961) is a Canadian actor, voice actor and comedian. He is a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of stage, television and film productions, most notably th ...
.) Zim is an outcast; he is delusional, very short, overzealous, narcissistic, and megalomaniacal.
An absentminded Zim nearly destroyed Irk and the Irkens during the empire's first invasion, ''Operation Impending Doom I''. He was punished by
exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
to the Irken
food court
A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...
planet Foodcourtia, although he failed to recognize the reason for his banishment. After learning that ''Operation Impending Doom II'' was being planned, Zim unilaterally "quits being banished" to attend the Great Assigning on the
convention center
A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
planet Conventia. At the Great Assigning, The Tallest appoints Irkens as Invaders, advance scouts tasked with infiltrating and preparing target planets for conquest by the Irken Armada. Zim successfully pleads to be made an Invader, and receives a "secret mission" intended to prevent interference with the invasion; the target "mystery planet" is on the outskirts of the known universe and is not confirmed to exist. He is issued GIR (
Rosearik Rikki Simons
Rosearik Rikki Allen Simons (born September 8, 1970) is an American voice actor, writer, cartoonist, and animator. He is best known as the voice of GIR in the Nickelodeon animated series, ''Invader Zim''. Simons has also written a number of nove ...
), an ineffective and erratic Standard Issue Information Retrieval (SIR) unit hastily made from spare parts found in a trash can.
After a six month journey across the universe, Zim arrives at the "mystery planet" which turns out to be dark, dystopian, and satirical version of
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. A delighted Zim quickly goes to work and sets up his base in a random
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
; The Tallest are dismayed by his success. A short-statured Zim disguises himself as a human child with a green complexion (which he claims is caused by a "skin condition".) The show follows his attempts to conduct
espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...
by attending a local school (spelled "Skool"), and planning to conquer and enslave the world at his base. Opposing Zim is his classmate Dib (
Andy Berman
Andrew Mark "Andy" Berman (born February 24, 1968) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his role as Dib Membrane in ''Invader Zim'', Dennis in ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' (1996-1997), Chuck in ''The Wo ...
), a paranoid young boy who is obsessed with the
paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...
and
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
and the only human (besides his sister) who sees through Zim's disguise. Dib is determined to expose and thwart Zim, despite the hostility and mockery he receives from his oblivious peers for doing so.
Supporting characters include Dib's cynical and apathetic sister Gaz (
Melissa Fahn
Melissa Fahn is an American actress and singer, best known as the voice of Gaz Membrane in ''Invader Zim'', as well as Hello Kitty in ''Hello Kitty's Paradise'' and voicing many anime and video game characters like Edward from '' Cowboy Bebop'', ...
); Zim and Dib's demonic teacher Ms. Bitters (
Lucille Bliss
Lucille Theresa Bliss (March 31, 1916 – November 8, 2012) was an American actress, known in the Bay Area and in Hollywood as the "Girl With a Thousand Voices".
A New York City native, Bliss lent her voice to numerous television characters, in ...
); and Dib and Gaz's famous, but neglectful father Professor Membrane (
Rodger Bumpass
Rodger Bumpass (born November 20, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his long-running role as Squidward Tentacles on the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He voices several other characters on the show as ...
). Later in the series, other alien characters begin to appear, including Tak ( Olivia d'Abo), a fellow Irken seeking revenge against Zim; Lard Nar (
Fred Tatasciore
Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast (comics), Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy ( ...
), the leader of a resistance group called The Resisty who wants to overthrow the Irken Empire; and Sizz-Lorr (
Jim Wise
James M. Wise (born July 30, 1964) is an American actor, singer, writer and composer. He is perhaps best known for his recurring role as Coach Tugnut in the Disney Channel Original Series ''Even Stevens''. He is also known for his voice-over wo ...
), Zim's former employer from Foodcourtia who attempts to recapture him.
Episodes
Production
Conception and early development
Prior to the creation of ''Invader Zim'',
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
desired a series to suit its 11–15 year old demographic. Nickelodeon producer Mary Harrington was searching for something that had a similar "edge" to ''
The Ren & Stimpy Show
''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' (also known as ''Ren & Stimpy'') is an American animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi. Originally produced by Spümcø for Nickelodeon, the series aired from August 11, 1991, to Decemb ...
,'' when she came across a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
called ''
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac
''Johnny the Homicidal Maniac'' (often abbreviated ''JtHM'') is the first comic book by Jhonen Vasquez. The series tells the story of a young man named Johnny “Nny” C. as he explores the psychological and possibly supernatural forces which ...
'' and was impressed with the art-style and character designs in the series. Harrington contacted the creator of ''JtHM'', then-22-year-old
Jhonen Vasquez
Jhonen C. Vasquez (; born September 1, 1974) is an American cartoonist, animator, screenwriter, music video director, and voice actor. He is best known for creating the comic book ''Johnny the Homicidal Maniac''—along with its spin-off comics ...
, who had zero experience in animation at the time, and asked him if he would like to pitch an animated series to Nickelodeon. Vasquez accepted the offer.
Vasquez knew from the start that his previous works were definitely not suitable for Nickelodeon, so instead of adapting something he had already done, he decided to make something new. Since he was creating a show for a children's network, Vasquez compiled together many things he loved during his own childhood, including robots, monsters, horror films, science fiction films, paranormal investigators,
Monty Python
Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...
, the works of
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...
, and aliens. Before settling on the darker concept of an alien invader, Vasquez briefly considered doing a more light-hearted show along the lines of ''
Mork & Mindy
''Mork & Mindy'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 14, 1978, to May 27, 1982. A spin-off after a highly successful episode of ''Happy Days'', "My Favorite Orkan", it starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extraterrest ...
'', with a zany alien misunderstanding Earth customs and ultimately, learning a lesson at the end. Vasquez said that while this idea probably would have found more success on Nickelodeon, he quickly dropped the idea, believing it would not fit his style of writing. Vasquez came up with the entire premise for ''Invader Zim'' in about an hour, while sitting in bed when he could not sleep. He was inspired by the idea of an alien who came from an incredibly advanced race and has access to such powerful and advanced technology that he could easily take over or destroy the Earth single-handedly, but instead he decides to stay in school all day, never even thinking to sneak out.
A
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
for ''Invader Zim'' was pitched to Nickelodeon in 1999, which led to the series being
green-lit
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
. Vasquez indicated that very little of his writing style was changed over the course of ''Invader Zim'', other than restricting certain language and visuals that may not be suitable for children. Vasquez cited that the biggest change for himself was going from working alone on a comic to working with thousands of people at Nickelodeon, saying "it's an absolute misery". However, he said the experience of working on ''Invader Zim'' was "incredibly gratifying", but also "fiendishly frustrating".
Animation
''Invader Zim'' was produced by
Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Nickelodeon Animation Studio is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global. It has created many original television programs for Nickelodeon, such as ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''The Fairly OddParents'', ''Rugrats'' and ''Avatar: The ...
in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
with
Nick Digital
Nickelodeon Digital, often shortened to Nick Digital and originally known as Nickelodeon Creative Labs, is an American animation studio based in New York City which opened in 1994. It is a division of Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Nickelodeon Dig ...
providing the CGI animation services and
Sunwoo Entertainment
Sunwoo & Company, Co., Ltd. () is an animation studio located in Seoul, South Korea. It was established as Sunwoo Production Inc. in 1974. It began by producing animation mainly for Disney Afternoon TV series, such as ''Chip 'n Dale Rescue Range ...
in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
providing the 2D animation services. Salami Studios provided the post-production and sound services for most episodes of the series, and Encore and Hollywood Digital provided the post-production services for a few episodes in season one. In season two, the animation style became slightly more stylized and pronounced in motion than in season one. ''Invader Zim''s art style is stylized with sharp edges, thick black outlines, big heads, small or elongated bodies, and big eyes for the characters. ''Invader Zims art-style was initially difficult for the animators to learn. Director Steve Ressel even admitted that it was the hardest style he had ever worked on, citing the characters' heads as the most complicated aspect of their designs.
''Invader Zim'' was one of the first animated television shows to merge
2D animation
Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation.
Proce ...
with
CGI animation
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images m ...
. When the development on ''Invader Zim'' was first getting started, Steve Ressel consulted with the crew of ''
Futurama
''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...
'' to figure out how to integrate 2D animation with CGI animation, since they were one of the first animated television shows that merged the two mediums. When the ''Futurama'' crew saw the show they were very impressed by how seamlessly the ''Invader Zim'' crew integrated both mediums, specifically in the episode "The Wettening".
While the average episode of an eleven-minute animated television show usually has around 80–120 pages of storyboards per episode, ''Invader Zim''s storyboards were around 250–350 pages per episode. This is because ''Invader Zim'' has a very dedicated attention to detail outlining every ounce of a character's movements and method of acting, which is something Nickelodeon was very impressed by.
The episode "Zim Eats Waffles" was originally supposed to be one long shot, panning between Dib's reaction and his computer screen. This was because the animators wanted to try to have the longest single shot in animation history.
However, this idea was scrapped, due to it limiting the episode's storytelling capabilities and it being too difficult to animate. Despite this decision, the majority of "Zim Eats Waffles" still ended up being one continual scene.
Voice acting
When casting voice actors for ''Invader Zim'', Vasquez did not want actors who were just capable of doing zany voices because it sounded less natural to him. He made a point to cast people with speaking voices that were naturally distinct and out of the ordinary so that the cast did not have to do unnatural voices, but could instead just speak naturally.
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...
was originally hired to do the voice of Zim for the pilot episode, but was replaced before the pilot was shown to Nickelodeon executives because Vasquez felt his voice did not feel right for the character. Hamill was replaced by voice acting professional
Billy West
William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of '' Doug'' ...
, who remained the voice of Zim for the pilot. After the show was picked up for a full series, Vasquez decided to replace West with
Richard Steven Horvitz
Richard Steven Horvitz (born July 29, 1966) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his voice work in animation and video games. His voice credits include the original Alpha 5 on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', ''Power Rangers Zeo'' an ...
, saying that West was "too well known" and that he wanted all of the voices for the main characters to be unique and not voices people had heard before. Also, due to ''
Futurama
''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...
'' still being on the air at the time, Vasquez did not want the same voice actor to be the lead in two contemporaneous sci-fi comedies.
Vasquez wanted someone with no experience in voice acting to play the part of GIR, as a reflection of how broken and messed up GIR really is. Vasquez wanted someone who sounded unprofessional, but all of the actors who auditioned for GIR were "good actors" who just did a "stock crazy robot voice", which he found dissatisfying. Vasquez then asked his friend,
Rosearik Rikki Simons
Rosearik Rikki Allen Simons (born September 8, 1970) is an American voice actor, writer, cartoonist, and animator. He is best known as the voice of GIR in the Nickelodeon animated series, ''Invader Zim''. Simons has also written a number of nove ...
, who was working with him on his comic called ''
I Feel Sick
''I Feel Sick'' is a comic book created by artist Jhonen Vasquez, with colors by Rosearik Rikki Simons. Published in August 1999 through May 2000, it is a spin-off of Vasquez's comic book series ''Johnny the Homicidal Maniac''. ''I Feel Sick'' ...
'' at the time, to try to audition for GIR, saying he "couldn't screw it up anymore than anyone else". Simons did a few different voices for his audition for GIR, including one where he was trying to imitate his mother-in-law, but decided it was too "shrieky". He then remembered when he used to play with hand puppets with his father as a kid and tried to do one of those voices. Simons was also a
colorist
In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it is ...
on ''Invader Zim'' and in November 1998, the same month he auditioned for GIR, he also helped color the pilot episode. Vasquez said he gave Simons the part of GIR because he was "bad at it", and that fit the character. When voicing GIR, Simons' voice was edited to make it sound higher-pitched and metallic. While Simons eventually learned to perform the voice without the high-pitch editing, the metallic quality still had to be added. Unedited versions of Simons' voice-overs can be heard in voice recordings for the unfinished episodes.
Music
Vasquez asked his friend Mark Tortorici to come up with the
theme music
Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...
for ''Invader Zim''. Vasquez said all he really wanted for the theme music was military music to represent Zim mixed with futuristic electric orchestral music. Once the direction for the music was settled on, Tortorici produced the theme music on an Alesis QS8 very quickly and it did not go through many changes, but they did reorchestrate it for the TV series and stuck with it from that point on.
Vasquez's team selected
Michael Tavera
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
, who is known for composing the music for ''
The Land Before Time
''The Land Before Time'' is an American animated film series and media franchise created by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss, distributed by Universal Pictures and centered on dinosaurs. The series began in 1988 with the eponymous ''The Land Befor ...
'', ''
An American Tail
''An American Tail'' is a 1986 American Animated film, animated musical film, musical adventure film directed by Don Bluth from a screenplay by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss and a story by David Kirschner, Freudberg and Geiss. The film features t ...
'', and ''
Stitch! The Movie
''Stitch! The Movie'' is a 2003 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Rough Draft Korea, released on August 26, 2003. It is the second film released in the ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise and ...
'', to compose the music for the pilot episode of ''Invader Zim''. Vasquez said that he asked for several of the tracks that Tavera produced to be discarded and that ultimately the team had less than half of the number of tracks that they planned to submit. According to Vasquez, he and Tavera were not "a great fit" for one another creatively. Vasquez described the pilot music as having a "more 'children's television' sound," with a "much more traditional and not as surprising" theme as he wanted, but added that the music "worked for the pilot." Tavera's cover version of Tortorici's theme music did not appear in the pilot as there was no opening credits sequence. Vasquez said that members of the ''Invader Zim'' crew laughed at Tavera's version of the theme because it was "cheesy," adding that the reaction was not mean-spirited and that Tavera had received little information about the series before submitting the music.
Tavera did not become a part of the regular ''Invader Zim'' crew, and was replaced with
Kevin Manthei
Kevin Manthei (born 1970 in Maplewood, Minnesota) is an American composer for film, television, and video games.
Biography
Manthei grew up in Minnesota. He played the piano in his youth and played the trumpet in high school. He graduated from th ...
, who is also known for composing the music for ''
Generator Rex
''Generator Rex'' is an American animated science fiction television series created by Man of Action for Cartoon Network, with John Fang of Cartoon Network Studios serving as supervising director. It was inspired by the comic '' M. Rex'', publish ...
'', ''
The Sims 2
''The Sims 2'' is a 2004 strategy game, strategic life simulation game, life simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second major title in ''The Sims'' series, and is the sequel to ''The Sims (video ...
'', and ''
Robot Chicken
''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...
'', to compose the series' music. Manthei's music for the series is industrial and techno in nature.
The anime internet radio station, "''Anime Stuff R''" did a radio broadcast special called, "''The Kevin Manthei Invader Zim-phony Special''" which featured a majority of the music Kevin Manthei composed for ''Invader Zim''. The broadcast special was hosted by Kevin Manthei, DJ Richard Rae and Tom Mitchell (DJ Tomzer1) and was broadcast from September 13, 2002, to October 15, 2002. The entire broadcast is 5 hours, 26 minutes, and 28 seconds long and includes music from every episode of ''Invader Zim'', except for "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever". The broadcast was extremely popular, so Anime Stuff R (temporarily renamed "Anime Stuff Z" for the special) decided to release a CD of the broadcast. However, due to financial reasons, they only made 100 copies of this CD. There are 325 tracks on the CD and the interior of the CD cover features messages from both Kevin Manthei and Richard Rae.
Kevin Manthei's message says:
Richard Rae's message says:
Challenges and censorship
''Invader ZIM'' would frequently find itself at odds with network censorship. In ''The Medium-Sized Book of ZIM Scrips Vol. 1'', series writer Eric Trueheart would characterize the relationship between the ''ZIM'' staff and the executives at Nickelodeon as "a little dysfunctional", and that "the executive assigned by Nickelodeon to oversee our show - who was, and still is, a decent guy, by the way - probably felt like he had to keep a lid on an inexperienced show creator, and as a result clamped down harder than he should have." Trueheart also speculated that the channel's other programming also had an effect on how the executives treated the show, stating that "Nickelodeon probably looked to ''
Rugrats
''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently— Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, ...
'' as the model of what a cartoon should be ... ''Invader ZIM'' was none of these things." Ultimately, "There was a just a conflict in personalities, intentions, and modus operandi ... The reality was just not a great fit, and yes, it was a problem."
In some episodes, it was originally intended for certain characters (such as Keef and Iggins) to be killed off at the end of an episode, but Nickelodeon would not allow any characters to be killed off and demanded the crew add certain details suggesting that they survived or in some cases, rewrite the episodes to where they would not die. They complied, however did so in an intentionally forced and sarcastic way to purposely convey their disagreement and reluctance toward the decision, such as the sarcastic "No characters were harmed in this episode" end-card message at the end of the episode "Hamstergeddon" where many background characters "died" onscreen.
In the
DVD commentary
An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
for the episode "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy", Jhonen Vasquez reveals that the original idea for the episode was for Zim to kill Dib off permanently, and for Dib to be replaced with a new kid named Louie. But once again, Nickelodeon would not allow any characters to be killed off permanently and so this did not end up happening. However, the episode's writer, Eric Trueheart, has stated that this was only meant to be taken as a joke, and that "Jhonen at no point thought he would actually kill off one of the lead characters in the series."
In "Door to Door" the
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
world that Zim shows people was originally going to involve a demolished city that resembled New York, but Nickelodeon demanded that this be changed due to its similarities to
9/11
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
. On reflection, Vasquez said that he prefers the new virtual reality world to the old one, since he does not like the idea of a real-life city existing in ''Invader Zim''. The original version of this scene can be found online. Additionally, the episode "Hamstergeddon" had only aired once prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center, and would shortly thereafter be temporarily withheld from rotation as " xecutivesthought the sight of falling buildings would not go over well with sensitive viewers."
One of the biggest problems Nickelodeon had with the show before it premiered was with Dib's design. Vasquez wanted Dib to wear a trench coat, but Nickelodeon opted against this because they feared Dib's clothing would remind people of the
Columbine High School massacre
On April 20, 1999, a school shooting and attempted bombing occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, 12th grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher. ...
, in which the two teenagers responsible for the shootings both wore trench coats during the attack. Nickelodeon ultimately lost this fight and Dib ended up wearing a trench coat in the show.
Later, Nickelodeon wanted to cut Dib from the show outright because they did not think he was funny or interesting enough. Vasquez fought back with a project called "God Save the Dib", which involved making slight changes to Dib's character to make him more funny and interesting in order to avoid Nickelodeon cutting him from the show. One notable change that came out of "God Save the Dib" was making Dib's head bigger than his body, which became a reoccurring joke throughout the series.
The original name for Gaz's
handheld game console
A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
was going to be "Game Slave Advanced", a spoof of
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
's handheld game console, the
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
. However, the people at Nintendo did not like this parody and threatened to sue Nickelodeon if the name was used. So the name was changed to "Game Slave" instead.
Vasquez wanted to add some red blood splatters to certain violent scenes in the episode "Bestest Friend", but Nickelodeon forbade this. Also, at end of "Bestest Friend", Keef was originally going to fall off of a building and onto a power line, which would have electrocuted him, but Nickelodeon was worried that kids might try to imitate this behavior and demanded that it be changed. The next idea was that Keef gets run over by a car, and spins around on the tire as it drives away, but Nickelodeon denied this scene too, this time for being "too violent". In the final version, Keef gets attacked by a squirrel and falls off of a building, which Nickelodeon was fine with.
In the episode "Hobo 13", Skoodge was going to be shown eating his own skin to survive, but Nickelodeon denied this scene and even the ''Invader Zim'' crew admitted that they thought it was "too much".
In the original ending of the episode "Walk of Doom", Zim and GIR were dropped off in a
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
with Mexican music playing in the background and a banner reading "Welcome to Mexico". Feeling that it would come off as racist, Nickelodeon denied this and the scenery was changed to a vaguely Mexican-looking, but still filthy town, the music was changed to disco music and the banner was changed to say "CARNE", which translates into "MEAT".
Originally, the episodes "Dark Harvest" and "Bestest Friend" were supposed to air together, but Nickelodeon would not allow this, saying that those two episodes are "too twisted" to air together. So instead, "Dark Harvest" aired with "Germs" and "Bestest Friend" aired with "NanoZim". Additionally, "Dark Harvest" was originally supposed to be called "The Hearts and Lungs of Zim's Darkness", but Nickelodeon denied this title.
In response to these censorships and restrictions, the writers of ''Invader Zim'' slipped in ways to poke fun at Nickelodeon, or to simply go against their wishes. This includes the character Nick, who is a boy that is always happy and a not-so-subtle reference to Nickelodeon's frequent demands that Vasquez make the show "happier" and more appealing to certain viewers, which Vasquez always detested.
Bloody GIR
"Bloody GIR", which depicts an image of GIR covered in blood, was created when series creator Jhonen Vasquez illustrated GIR covered in blood and wanted to put this drawing into an episode of ''Invader Zim''. Nickelodeon, however, prohibited it. Director Steve Ressel and illustrator Chris Graham then snuck the forbidden drawing into a single frame of the episode "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy". Post-production supervisor Jason Stiff has confirmed that the image does indeed appear in that episode, and Ressel also confirmed its existence in interviews. The image of Bloody GIR was reportedly scattered throughout the "last fourteen episodes" of the series by Ressel and Graham. Bloody GIR can be seen the most clearly during the intro to the episode "Mortos der Soulstealer". Although the idea for Bloody GIR was confirmed by Ressel not to have surfaced until the episode "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy", some claim to have found it in earlier episodes of the series, such as "Dark Harvest" and "Attack of the Saucer Morons". Additionally, some people have claimed that Bloody GIR was meant to debut in the episode "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", in which GIR was supposed to be covered in blood while floating with the data canister and draining humans, but this directly contradicts Ressel's statements on the matter.
Many people believe that Bloody GIR was the reason behind the cancellation of ''Invader Zim''. However, Vasquez has revealed that Nickelodeon did not find out about the image's inclusion until after the show's cancellation. Vasquez also stated that when it was discovered by Nickelodeon, they were not particularly bothered by it, since kids would not notice it anyway.
Certain images of Bloody GIR can only be seen in a frame-by-frame viewing. Otherwise, it will be a flash, or, in some cases, blended into the movements of the animation. Bloody GIR is never animated and will always appear as a still image. However, the opacity and size of the Bloody GIR is varied.
Cancellation
On January 18, 2002, Nickelodeon issued a statement announcing the show's cancellation after completing 27 episodes, instead of fulfilling the original 40 episodes order. On this subject, creator of the show Jhonen Vasquez said, "I could go on and on with variations of the most fantastic reasons for why the show was cancelled, but in the end, even I couldn't give you the whole and accurate truth for why the show got pulled," he wrote in a lengthy post on his website in 2010, nearly eight years after the show wrapped. "The most likely culprits are simply ratings and the sheer expense of the show, which was monstrously expensive at the time, especially when compared to more modern, flash-based savings fests."
Nearly nine years later in 2019, Vasquez was interviewed by
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
and said:
In an interview with
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
in 2018, Richard Horvitz, the voice of Zim, was questioned about why the show got cancelled; he responded:
Broadcast history
When ''Invader Zim'' was
green-lit
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
, Nickelodeon had desired a
block
Block or blocked may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting
* W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...
of "mature, action-oriented" programming for an older demographic to compete with some of the stuff that
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
was doing at the time. But for unknown reasons, ''Invader Zim'' was the only series green-lit for this experiment and this block of "mature, action-oriented" shows never ended up happening. By the time the show was made, Nickelodeon had decided that they were no longer interested in trying to reach an older audience, which left ''Invader Zim'' hard to place in an appropriate time slot suitable for its originally intended demographic. ''Invader Zim'' ultimately ended up being sandwiched between ''
The Fairly OddParents
''The Fairly OddParents'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy with two fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda who grant him w ...
'' and ''
Rocket Power
''Rocket Power'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó, the creators of ''Rugrats''. The series aired on Nickelodeon from August 16, 1999 to July 30, 2004.
Premise
''Rocket Power'' revolves around t ...
'', which did not feel like a suitable time slot for the show, according to the creator. ''Invader Zim'' was originally intended for 11–15 year olds, but due to its poor time slot placement, it ended up being viewed primarily by 6–10 year olds, many of whom were turned off by the show's dark and disturbing nature, resulting in the show receiving poor ratings and viewership.
Even though ''Invader Zim'' usually aired later at night, the show never found a time slot that the creators of the program thought was suitable for it and the show continuously suffered in ratings amongst 6–10 year olds, Nickelodeon's core demographic.
In an interview with ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' in 2004, Jhonen Vasquez said that when it became apparent that Nickelodeon was the "place for kids" but not "kids who want their eyes ripped out", they had asked for ''Invader Zim'' to be transferred to
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
or a more "adult network" similar to what Nickelodeon had previously done with ''
The Ren & Stimpy Show
''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' (also known as ''Ren & Stimpy'') is an American animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi. Originally produced by Spümcø for Nickelodeon, the series aired from August 11, 1991, to Decemb ...
'', as the series did not feel right on Nickelodeon and would have likely found greater success elsewhere. This never ended up happening and instead, Nickelodeon buried the show with ever-changing time slots, which further hurt the show's ratings.
''Invader Zim'' premiered on March 30, 2001, and contains 20 episodes in its first season. At the beginning of the series, new episodes of ''Invader Zim'' were aired on Friday nights usually at 9:00PM ( ET/ PT). In August 2001, Nickelodeon officially renewed the series for a second season, which was originally planned to consist of 20 episodes.
''Invader Zims Friday night time slot ceased with the episode, "Door to Door" which was originally scheduled to premiere on September 14, 2001. But after the attacks of
9/11
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
, three days prior, "Door to Door" and its paired episode "FBI Warning of Doom" ended up getting abruptly pulled from Nickelodeon's schedule and pushed back over six months to March 2002. This was partly because "Door to Door" contained a violent scene which resembled the attacks of
9/11
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
, that now needed to be cut and re-done; but also due to the "blanket fears that anything remotely violent would be received as being in poor taste" given the atmosphere and condition of the country at the time.Vasquez, Jhonen (2004). ''Invader Zim'' volume 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Door to Door" (DVD). Media Blasters. ''Invader Zim'' suffered creatively after
9/11
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
and Nickelodeon began frequently and inconveniently changing the shows' time slots with little promotion for new episodes which led to an even further drop in ratings and viewership.
The uncut version of "Door to Door" was accidentally aired on Nickelodeon on March 29, 2002, which was the first time the episode premiered. All subsequent airings of "Door to Door" were of the cut version.
In January 2002, Nickelodeon announced that they had plans to cancel the series. Upon hearing this announcement, many fans became outraged at Nickelodeon for scheduling ''Invader Zim'' for poor and frequently changing time slots towards the end of its run and for not providing the show with a good amount of promotional attention compared to some of their other shows at the time. Almost immediately after the announcement was made, fans launched an online petition to try to change Nickelodeon's mind or get the show picked up by a different network, and even though the petition collected over 55,000 signatures by April 2002, it was not enough to prevent Nickelodeon from canceling the show.
The episode "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever" was broadcast out of order, as evident by the presence of the new character, Minimoose, who did not get a proper introduction. Minimoose's introductory episode is called "Nubs of Doom" and was originally intended to air before "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever", but because Nickelodeon was planning on canceling the series, the show's staff had to pick and choose their final episodes very carefully and Jhonen Vasquez said he was more excited for "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever", so that episode was made instead, leaving "Nubs of Doom" unfinished.
The final episode of the series, "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever", premiered on Nickelodeon on December 10, 2002. The show finished with a total of 27 of its initially contracted 40 episodes leaving at least 17 episode segments unfinished. Concept art, scripts, voice recordings, storyboards and animatics for some of these unfinished episodes can be found in the special features of some of the DVDs or online. Six of the completed second-season episodes initially went unreleased. These episodes would first appear on DVD in 2004 and later made their television debut on
Nicktoons
Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
from June 10 to August 19, 2006.
On December 24, 2011, the series' pilot made its television debut on both Nickelodeon and Nicktoons (it had previously only been seen on DVD) after an eight-hour marathon and followed by the result of Nicktoons' "Girreatest Zim Moments" online poll.
Reruns of ''Invader Zim'' have been airing on
Nicktoons
Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
since the channel's launch on May 1, 2002. The series premiered on
NickSplat
NickRewind (formerly The '90s Are All That, The Splat, and NickSplat) was an American late night programming block that broadcast nightly over the channel space of TeenNick. The block showed reruns of mid-late 1980s, 1990s, and early-mid 2000 ...
for the first time on January 2, 2019, with a seven-hour marathon before returning nightly as of January 7, 2020.
Both seasons of ''Invader Zim'' are available for download on the
Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Games Store (formerly Xbox Live Marketplace) is a digital distribution platform used by Microsoft's Xbox Series X, S, Xbox One and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The service allows users to download or purchase video games (including both ...
and
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network.
The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
. In addition, the entire series is available for purchase on
Vudu
Vudu is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand rentals and digital purchases of films, ...
,
Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...
,
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
and
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
. The entire series is also available for streaming on
Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...
and
Paramount+
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
.
Reception and legacy
Critical reception
''
Screen Rant
''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
s Spencer Coriaty wrote: "Backed by some of the most cutting edge animation at the time, and still breathtaking by today's standards, ''Invader Zim'' is like a ''
Mystery Science Theater
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 198 ...
'' fan's dream come true. It seamlessly blends sci-fi, action and comedy into one twisted and hilarious cartoon with superb voice acting and visionary direction." Kristy Punchko from ''
Nerdist
Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast (The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium conte ...
'' praised the series' satirical themes and how it "relished in weird, pushed boundaries, and dared to be unapologetically stupid". Punchko also offered praise for the humor in ''Invader Zim'', saying: "Colliding the sublimely silly with the cerebral, ''Invader Zim'' played as seminal precursor to subversive sci-fi shows like ''
Rick and Morty
{{Infobox television
, image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png
, alt =
, caption =
, genre = {{Plainlist,
* Animated sitcom
* Adult animation
* Science fiction
* Black comedy
* ...
.''" Becca James, writing for ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' said, "''Invader Zim'' was destined for a cult following. From its seemingly bizarre nature to its too-early demise, 'Invader Zim''brought a darker form of entertainment to ickelodeon andwelcomed critical acclaim for straddling the line between child and adult entertainment nd theconstant depiction of Earth as a complete shitcan only adds to this dingy, but delightful program."
Allegra Frank from ''
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
'' said: Sam Thielman from ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' said, " 'Invader Zim''s sense of humor is somehow dark without being bleak; even when the show takes its cues from horror movies it's often quite scary, but it's somehow never too much. ..''Invader Zim'' didn't last nearly long enough, but it did spawn a cult following almost immediately and became a password for alienated millennials and teenagers everywhere." Alex Bedder, from ''
NYU Local
''NYU Local'' is an independent news blog run by New York University (NYU) students. It is the companion publication for NYU along with the ''Washington Square News'', and the undergraduate equivalent of ''Washington Square Review''.
Founded in ...
'', said, "Essentially the black sheep of the animated Nickelodeon family, ''Invader Zim'' never quite stuck its landing, but it became a beloved and off-kilter fan favorite. ..There are random, twitchy characters, the word "doom" is overused, and there are countless other illogical outbursts. But the common thread weaving all of the madness together is its original, sick, and sometimes oddly-intelligent sense of humor." In an article he wrote for ''
Cartoon Brew
Cartoon Brew is an animation news website created by Amid Amidi and animation historian Jerry Beck that was launched in 2004.
Cartoon Dump
It also created ''Cartoon Dump'', a weekly podcast showing poorly made TV cartoons featuring ''Mystery Sc ...
'', animation historian,
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer.
Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including ''The 50 Greatest C ...
said: "I always thought highly of 'Invader Zim'' but watching it again this weekend reminded me how good it truly was. ..I laugh long and hard at incidents, situations and visuals on 'Invader Zim'' and if there is any justice it should be ranked alongside the likes of ''
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'' and ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''."
Mary Grace Garis from ''
Bustle
A bustle is a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. ...
'' praised ''Invader Zim'' for how it does not sugarcoat reality, saying, "You can't deny that 'Invader Zim''really put in some heavy, soul crushing messages between "The Doom Song" and all those rubber piggies. And I'd say that a la ''
The Powerpuff Girls
''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Televi ...
'', they did a really good job of hiding adult lessons in a children's cartoon, but well... I'm pretty sure they were a bit more blatant in delivering the news that we were all doomed." Kayla Cobb, of ''
Decider
Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to:
* ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post''
*'' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special
* Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machine th ...
'' said, "If you prefer your humor to be equal parts dark and random, then it's time to re-watch this short-lived Nicktoon. 'Invader Zim''can best be characterized by its sarcasm, cruelty, and violence. This is a show that creates a disturbing giant monster baby fusion in one episode and labels the ultimate face of horror as a room with a moose the next. So yeah. It's kind of all over the place, which is why we love it." Lana Berkowitz, from The ''
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
'' praised ''Invader Zims art-style and color palette saying, "The series has an appropriately gloomy look of impending doom colored with dark reds and black, and a dash of alien green. The animation's angular look and the characters' big, expressive eyes give ''Invader Zim'' a distinctive look."
''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
s Steven Oxman, wrote, " 'Invader Zim''captures a nice blend of the innocent and the satirical". Further stating that, "The artwork n the showisn't especially original but still manages to create a nicely off-center vision of Earth and its inhabitants. Vasquez and co-writer Rob Hummel throw in some clever quips at life on this planet, taking aim particularly at the doomsaying schoolteacher, Ms. Bitters ndKevin Manthei's music provides strong accompaniment to the escapades." Sean Fitz-Gerald from ''
Thrillist
Thrillist is an online media website covering food, drink, travel and entertainment. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in New York City, United States. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands '' The Dodo'', NowThis News ...
'' wrote: "Though ''Invader Zim'' came from Jhonen Vasquez, the same beautifully twisted mind behind ''Johnny the Homicidal Maniac'', the
how
How may refer to:
* How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech
* How, an interrogative word in English grammar
Art and entertainment Literature
* ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...
manages to hold off on graphic violence and obscenities without losing all its bite. The spastic im along with the world around him, capitalizes on cheeky, masochistic, and random humor in ways viewers of all ages can appreciate." Joe Matar writing for ''
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gan ...
'' wrote: "''Invader Zim'' is a brilliant piece of unsettling, grotesque horror, with a heart of goofiness, which is a big part of its appeal. ..The incorporation of cel-shaded CGI and lots of sharp geometric shapes actually enhanced the look
f the show
F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
rather than came off as a cheap shortcut." Andy Patrizio of ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' praised the colors and the CGI imagery in ''Invader Zim'', but criticized how Zim is "always shrieking and yelling at the top of his lungs" and the inconsistencies between episodes, but added "When the show hits, it hits big."
George Dvorsky, from ''
io9
''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
'', specifically praised the character GIR, saying, "Science fiction has portrayed its fair share of glitchy and bumbling robots over the years, but none hold a candle to ''Invader Zims GIR. Quite possibly the most erratic and unhelpful robot to ever hit the screen, GIR has become one of the most loved and often quoted characters to appear in a sci-fi cartoon in years." Lynne Heffley, writing for ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said "The deliriously original ''Invader Zim'' rocks" offering praise for the show's humor and art-style, calling it a "visual feast of geometric lines, strange angles, vaulting curves, fantastic, transforming machines and odd, shadowed places." Sean Aitchison from '' CBR'' said, "''Invader Zim'' not only holds up incredibly well, it also feels like it was rather ahead of its time and maybe it would have lasted longer today. ..The weird humor, the eccentric characters and even the premise all feel like a show that would have easily gotten green-lit in the modern cartoon renaissance that began with ''
Adventure Time
''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
''. The show only ran for two seasons, which makes it such a shame when you realize how much it would have thrived in modern times." On the
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website ''
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
'', ''Invader Zim'' currently holds a 100% approval rating based on 13 reviews. The website's critical consensus for season one reads: "The right balance of dark humor and spastic earnestness make ''Invader Zim'' a creepy kid's cartoon worthy of its cult following."
The now-defunct magazine ''Christian Parenting Today'' negatively criticized ''Invader Zim'' in their May 2001 issue, written by Jennifer Mangan, calling the show "non-Christian", "immoral", "offensive", "blasphemous", "unsuitable for Christian children" and "insulting towards Christian values and beliefs" due to the show's dark nature and negative characters like Gaz and Ms. Bitters, among other complaints. ''
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.
s Andrea Graham wrote more negatively of ''Invader Zim'', praising the show's "laugh-out-loud" humor, but criticizing the way that Zim has a complete lack of concern for all life, how humans are depicted as less-than-intelligent life forms, how human society is depicted as a terrible disgusting place, the very frequent use of verbal insults, and that there is no good messages or good role models in the show. Some parents have criticized ''Invader Zim'' for its pessimistic portrayal of humanity, the near constant-level of screaming among the characters, as well as the large amounts of verbal insults and threats, and the disturbing and disgusting content, calling it "unnecessary", "misanthropic", "too scary for children" and "inappropriate for children." According to director Steve Ressel, Nickelodeon held a test screening for the episode "Dark Harvest" during which one kid ran out of the room crying before the episode was over and others were visibly shaken and clearly terrified at what they saw.
In 2006, ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' ranked ''Invader Zim'' at number 22 on their list of the Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time and in 2009, ''IGN'' ranked ''Invader Zim'' at number 57 on their list of the Top 100 Animated Series. In 2016, ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' ranked Zim as the 18th Most Memorable Nickelodeon Character. That same year, ''
Screen Rant
''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'' ranked ''Invader Zim'' at number 9 on their list of the 25 Best Nickelodeon Shows and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' ranked ''Invader Zim'' as the third Best Nickelodeon Cartoon. In 2017, '' CBR'' ranked ''Invader Zim'' at number 5 on their list titled, 15 Incredible Cartoons That Were Canceled For No Good Reason. In 2018, ''
Paste Magazine
''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...
'' ranked ''Invader Zim'' at number 60 on their list of The 100 Best Sci-Fi Shows of All Time. In 2018, ''IGN'' included the episode "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever" on their list titled, 10 of the Best Holiday TV Episodes Ever.
Ratings
''Invader Zim'' garnered decent ratings for its premiere episode, with a 6.0 rating/17 share (about 1.8 million views) among kids ages 2–11. As the show went on, ratings and viewership began to decline amongst Nickelodeon's target audience of 2–11 year olds.
While ''Invader Zim'' was popular during its original run, Nickelodeon did not think the show was doing well because they were only focusing on a certain age group of viewers: 2–11 year olds. Even though ''Invader Zim'' was praised by critics and popular with viewers ages 14–18, the ratings amongst Nickelodeon's core demographic were just not high enough for the network to justify the expenses being put into the show, as ''Invader Zim'' was the most expensive show they were producing at the time. When Nickelodeon saw that some of their other shows with half the budget of ''Invader Zim'' were getting double the desired ratings amongst the 2–11 year old demographic, canceling the show just seemed to be the logical thing to do from a business perspective.
Despite the poor ratings the show received during its original run, reruns of ''Invader Zim'' tend to receive average to above average views and ratings. In March through July 2010, reruns of ''Invader Zim'' were aired on
Nicktoons
Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
. These reruns became the second highest-rated show on the network, behind ''
Avatar: The Last Airbender
''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...
''.
Awards and nominations
InvaderCON
''Invader Zim'' has its own
fan convention
Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...
known as InvaderCON, run by
Wasabi Anime
Wasabi Anime (also known as Green Mustard Entertainment) is a company that produces events and programming for anime conventions (and other fan conventions) in North America along with their stand-alone conventions. Starting in 2001 (with the reg ...
(also known as "Green Mustard Entertainment"). The initial event was created to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of ''Invader Zim'' and took place in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
on March 26–27, 2011. (The convention's date was set exactly ten years, to the weekend, from when the show first premiered: March 30, 2001.) Special guests included cast members
Richard Steven Horvitz
Richard Steven Horvitz (born July 29, 1966) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his voice work in animation and video games. His voice credits include the original Alpha 5 on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', ''Power Rangers Zeo'' an ...
,
Melissa Fahn
Melissa Fahn is an American actress and singer, best known as the voice of Gaz Membrane in ''Invader Zim'', as well as Hello Kitty in ''Hello Kitty's Paradise'' and voicing many anime and video game characters like Edward from '' Cowboy Bebop'', ...
,
Rosearik Rikki Simons
Rosearik Rikki Allen Simons (born September 8, 1970) is an American voice actor, writer, cartoonist, and animator. He is best known as the voice of GIR in the Nickelodeon animated series, ''Invader Zim''. Simons has also written a number of nove ...
,
Andy Berman
Andrew Mark "Andy" Berman (born February 24, 1968) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his role as Dib Membrane in ''Invader Zim'', Dennis in ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' (1996-1997), Chuck in ''The Wo ...
and writer Eric Trueheart. The convention had over a thousand in attendance and featured many ''Invader Zim''-related panels and activities; including a panel where the voice cast read the scripts for the unfinished episodes "Mopiness of Doom" and "Day of da Spookies". One dollar of each ticket purchased for InvaderCON was donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The choice of charity was selected by Richard Horvitz, who was one of the first guests to be booked. In the end, InvaderCON raised almost $2,000 for JDRF. InvaderCON was not endorsed, sanctioned or in any other way supported, directly or indirectly, by Viacom International, Inc. or Nickelodeon. But it was confirmed that a few representatives of Nickelodeon attended to observe the turnout and were quoted as being "overwhelmed".
InvaderCON was originally intended to be a one time event, but due to the success of the first InvaderCON and demand from fans, an encore presentation of the convention, InvaderCON II: DOOMCON, took place on July 28–29, 2012, in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, featuring all of the previous year's guests (except for Andy Berman) with the addition of series creator
Jhonen Vasquez
Jhonen C. Vasquez (; born September 1, 1974) is an American cartoonist, animator, screenwriter, music video director, and voice actor. He is best known for creating the comic book ''Johnny the Homicidal Maniac''—along with its spin-off comics ...
, character designer Aaron Alexovich, voice of Professor Membrane
Rodger Bumpass
Rodger Bumpass (born November 20, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his long-running role as Squidward Tentacles on the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He voices several other characters on the show as ...
, post-production supervisor Jason Stiff, storyboard artist Ian Graham and a surprise appearance from voice of Almighty Tallest Red
Wally Wingert
Wallace Eugene Wingert (born May 6, 1961) is an American voice actor. His roles include Almighty Tallest Red in ''Invader Zim'', Renji Abarai in ''Bleach'', Kotetsu T. Kaburagi / Wild Tiger in '' Tiger & Bunny'', The Riddler in the '' Batman: ...
. During this convention there was a panel where the voice cast read the script for the unfinished episode "The Trial".
According to InvaderCON's official website:
With over 10,000 fans on Facebook asking for another InvaderCON, Wasabi Anime decided to do InvaderCON "one last time". The third InvaderCON was funded via
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
on June 21 – July 21, 2013. The Kickstarter was a success and exceeded its initial goal of $33,333. Wasabi Anime said they wanted the third InvaderCON to be located "in the middle" of where the previous InvaderCONs were located. Thus, Austin, Texas was chosen as its location since it is approximately 1,000 miles from Atlanta (InvaderCON 2011) and 1,300 miles from Los Angeles (InvaderCON 2012.) InvaderCON III: FINAL DOOM took place on July 26–27, 2014 in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. Special guests included cast members Richard Steven Horvitz, Melissa Fahn, Rosearik Rikki Simons, Rodger Bumpass and writer Eric Trueheart. At this convention there was a panel where the voice cast read the script for the unfinished episode "Ten Minutes to Doom".
Even though InvaderCON III: FINAL DOOM was originally intended to be the last InvaderCON, fans, as well as Wasabi Anime, continued to express interest in doing another InvaderCON. In the years following InvaderCON III: FINAL DOOM, the founder of Wasabi Anime, Tom Croom, repeatedly teased fans on Twitter with the possibilities of another InvaderCON on multiple different occasions.
On August 16, 2019, Wasabi Anime launched a Kickstarter to test the waters for a potential fourth InvaderCON event. The Kickstarter reached its $2,500 goal in just four days. In February 2020, it was officially announced that there would be a fourth InvaderCON event which was originally scheduled to take place in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
on August 7–9, 2020, as part of
Fan Expo Boston
Fan Expo Boston, formerly Boston Comic Con, is a multigenre convention held annually in Boston, MA. Primarily focused on comic books, the convention later featured media guests from film and television, cosplayers, an art auction, a tabletop/CCG/R ...
. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, it was postponed to August 6–8, 2021, along with Fan Expo Boston. The fourth InvaderCon event was later postponed again indefinitely. On March 30, 2021, InvaderCON hosted a
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
livestream celebrating the twentieth anniversary of ''Invader Zim''. It featured Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons, Rodger Bumpass, Melissa Fahn, Olivia d’Abo, Wally Wingert, Aaron Alexovich, Eric Trueheart and Kevin Manthei. On November 13, 2021, Wasabi Anime revealed that they no longer have any plans for another InvaderCON event in the near future, but remain open to the possibilities of another convention.
InvaderCON, unlike some other projects done by Wasabi Anime (such as ''Florida Anime Experience''), is not an annual show done in a city near where Wasabi Anime is located. InvaderCON's attendees at all three conventions were only about 20% locals. Over 80% of InvaderCON attendees came from outside the convention's host state. This made predicting attendance and budgeting for InvaderCON "very tricky and extremely risky" according to Wasabi Anime.
Influence
Bryan Konietzko
Bryan Konietzko is an American animator, writer, producer and musician. He is best known, together with Michael Dante DiMartino, as the co-creator and executive producer of the animated series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of ...
, the co-creator of the Nickelodeon animated series ''
Avatar: The Last Airbender
''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...
'', was a storyboard artist and art director on ''Invader Zim''. Konietzko has said that the character of
Aang
Avatar Aang ( zh, c=安昂, p=Ān Áng) is the title character and protagonist of Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko), voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang ...
was inspired by a drawing of an adult character he had originally designed while working on ''Invader Zim''. When Konietzko first redesigned the character as Aang for ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' he left visible "traces of Jhonen Vasquez's idiosyncratic style in the character's poses."
Rebecca Sugar
Rebecca Rea Sugar (born July 9, 1987) is an American animator and screenwriter. She is best known for being the creator of the Cartoon Network series ''Steven Universe'', making her the first non-binary person to independently create a series for ...
, the creator of the
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
animated series ''
Steven Universe
''Steven Universe'' is an American animated series, animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe (character), Steven Universe (Zach Callison), who li ...
'', is a fan of ''Invader Zim'' and has admitted to reading and writing
fan fiction
Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...
and drawing
fan art
Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction and derived from a series character or other aspect of that work. They are usually done by amateur artists, semi-professionals or professionals. As fan labor, fan art refers to ...
for ''Invader Zim'' when she was a teenager. Sugar has said, "I owe a whole lot to Jhonen Vasquez. His show ''Invader Zim'' was my gateway drug to the independent comic world. ..Someday I hope to meet honen Vasquezand thank him for changing my life." Additionally, Sugar provided the
foreword
A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the ...
for ''The Art of Invader Zim'', in which she further discussed the positive impact the show has had on her life and career.Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano, the creator of ''
Hazbin Hotel
''Hazbin Hotel'' is an American adult animated musical series created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. The series revolves around Charlie Morningstar, princess of Hell, on her quest to find a way for demons to be "rehabilitated" and allowed ...
'' and ''
Helluva Boss
''Helluva Boss'' is an American adult animation, adult animated web series created by Vivienne Medrano, Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. It revolves around the misadventures of the employees of I.M.P., an assassination company in Hell. The pilot wa ...
'', is a fan of ''Invader Zim'' and has gone on to say that ''Invader Zim'' had a "huge influence" on her and her work.
In 2018,
Wally Wingert
Wallace Eugene Wingert (born May 6, 1961) is an American voice actor. His roles include Almighty Tallest Red in ''Invader Zim'', Renji Abarai in ''Bleach'', Kotetsu T. Kaburagi / Wild Tiger in '' Tiger & Bunny'', The Riddler in the '' Batman: ...
, the voice of Almighty Tallest Red, noted during an interview with ''
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gan ...
'' that " e reason other shows like ''
Adventure Time
''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
n cartoons
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
than we ever did on ''Zim''."
In 2019, ''
Screen Rant
''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
s Maddy Cohen observed that " guably, ''Invader Zim'' is one of the most influential animated shows to come out of
he early 2000s
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
with echoes of its humor and tone present in ''
Adventure Time
''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
'', ''
Regular Show
''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its eighth season) is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 6, 2010, to January 16, 2017, over the course of eight seasons a ...
'', ''
Gravity Falls
''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal) wh ...
'', and ''
Steven Universe
''Steven Universe'' is an American animated series, animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe (character), Steven Universe (Zach Callison), who li ...
''." That same year, Eric Vilas-Boas from ''
Thrillist
Thrillist is an online media website covering food, drink, travel and entertainment. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in New York City, United States. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands '' The Dodo'', NowThis News ...
'' wrote " 'Invader Zim''remained an influential cult classic, informing future cartoons like ''
Avatar: The Last Airbender
''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...
'' all the way up to ''Steven Universe'', ''Gravity Falls'', ''
Rick and Morty
{{Infobox television
, image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png
, alt =
, caption =
, genre = {{Plainlist,
* Animated sitcom
* Adult animation
* Science fiction
* Black comedy
* ...
'', and beyond."
Controversy
''Invader Zim'' became a controversial series when the show was mentioned at
Scott Dyleski
Scott Edgar Dyleski (born October 30, 1988) is an American murderer, convicted of murdering his neighbor, Pamela Vitale, the wife of prominent attorney Daniel Horowitz. He received the maximum penalty allowed by the law, life in prison without ...
's murder trial in 2006. Dyleski, who was 17 at the time of the trial, was convicted of murdering his neighbor, and cited the ''Invader Zim'' episode "Dark Harvest" as his motivation for committing the murder. Dyleski said that after watching "Dark Harvest" he became "fascinated with collecting body parts" and "curious as to how the human body would function without certain organs", which inspired the murder—although the people who defended Dyleski said these comments were made in jest.
Related media
Netflix film
On November 8, 2016, ''
Harvey Beaks
''Harvey Beaks'' is an American animated television series created by C. H. Greenblatt for Nickelodeon. The series aired from March 28, 2015, until December 9, 2016, when it was moved to Nicktoons on March 1, 2017, which followed the series fin ...
'' and ''
Chowder
Chowder is a thick soup prepared with milk or cream, a roux, and seafood or vegetables. Oyster crackers or saltines may accompany chowders as a side item, and cracker pieces may be dropped atop the dish. New England clam chowder is typically ...
'' creator, C. H. Greenblatt was asked by a fan on Tumblr if he would work with Jhonen Vasquez on an hypothetical ''Invader Zim'' movie, and Greenblatt responded, "Jhonen IS making an ''Invader Zim'' movie for Nick. I'm not a part of it, but I'm excited." However, Vasquez initially denied this on his Twitter, most likely because he was under contract to not say anything at the time and was forced to dismiss it as a rumor.
On April 4, 2017, over sixteen years since the series' debut and eleven years since the last unaired episode premiered in the United States, Nickelodeon officially announced that they had
green-lit
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
a 71-minute
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
based on the series with three teaser trailers being released in a span of the following four days. Vasquez returned as executive producer and as the voice of Zim's computer, along with
Kevin Manthei
Kevin Manthei (born 1970 in Maplewood, Minnesota) is an American composer for film, television, and video games.
Biography
Manthei grew up in Minnesota. He played the piano in his youth and played the trumpet in high school. He graduated from th ...
as the composer and Jenny Goldberg who worked on the Invader Zim comic book series as the Art Director for the movie. Most of the cast members from the television series reprised their roles in the movie including:
Richard Steven Horvitz
Richard Steven Horvitz (born July 29, 1966) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his voice work in animation and video games. His voice credits include the original Alpha 5 on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', ''Power Rangers Zeo'' an ...
as Zim,
Rosearik Rikki Simons
Rosearik Rikki Allen Simons (born September 8, 1970) is an American voice actor, writer, cartoonist, and animator. He is best known as the voice of GIR in the Nickelodeon animated series, ''Invader Zim''. Simons has also written a number of nove ...
as GIR,
Andy Berman
Andrew Mark "Andy" Berman (born February 24, 1968) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his role as Dib Membrane in ''Invader Zim'', Dennis in ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' (1996-1997), Chuck in ''The Wo ...
as Dib,
Melissa Fahn
Melissa Fahn is an American actress and singer, best known as the voice of Gaz Membrane in ''Invader Zim'', as well as Hello Kitty in ''Hello Kitty's Paradise'' and voicing many anime and video game characters like Edward from '' Cowboy Bebop'', ...
as Gaz,
Wally Wingert
Wallace Eugene Wingert (born May 6, 1961) is an American voice actor. His roles include Almighty Tallest Red in ''Invader Zim'', Renji Abarai in ''Bleach'', Kotetsu T. Kaburagi / Wild Tiger in '' Tiger & Bunny'', The Riddler in the '' Batman: ...
as Almighty Tallest Red,
Kevin McDonald
Kevin Hamilton McDonald (born May 16, 1961) is a Canadian actor, voice actor and comedian. He is a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of stage, television and film productions, most notably th ...
as Almighty Tallest Purple,
Rodger Bumpass
Rodger Bumpass (born November 20, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his long-running role as Squidward Tentacles on the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He voices several other characters on the show as ...
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
2018, Jhonen Vasquez explained that Nickelodeon had been asking him about doing more ''Invader Zim'' for years and that he always had to decline their offers either because he was busy working on something else or due to not being able to come to an agreement with Nickelodeon on a budget for a ''Invader Zim'' revival. But being completely miserable with the other things he was working on at the time, Vasquez accepted Nickelodeon's latest offer to do more ''Invader Zim''. Nickelodeon initially wanted a new ''Invader Zim'' television series, but Vasquez suggested a six-episode
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
instead. He soon changed his mind to a television movie, since doing a movie would be "infinitely less stressful".
'' Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus'' had a panel at
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
on July 20, 2018. During the panel, some never before seen production art such as backgrounds and turn-around charts for the movie were revealed. A trailer put together out of unedited first take animation for the movie was also shown at the panel accompanied by some original music composed for the trailer by Kevin Manthei. During the panel, Vasquez explained that he put the trailer together out of some random animated footage he had for the movie that he thought looked presentable enough to show people and that most of the shots used in the trailer were going to be sent back overseas to be re-animated. Vasquez also revealed that they had written the movie in 2015 and that at the time of the panel, they were currently in the process of getting first take animation back from their overseas animation team, Maven Animation Studios, in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
On May 10, 2019, Viacom president
Robert Bakish
Robert Marc Bakish ( ; born December 14, 1963) is an American business executive. He has been President and CEO of Paramount Global since December 4, 2019, formerly holding the same position at Viacom before the merger with CBS Corporation. Ea ...
revealed in a conference call that Netflix has acquired the distribution rights to ''Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus''. The movie was released on Netflix on August 16, 2019.
Video games
''Invader Zim'' has yet to have a stand-alone video game release, but has been featured in several Nickelodeon related video games.
The 2002 game, ''
Nickelodeon Party Blast
''Nickelodeon Party Blast'' is a party video game developed by English developer Data Design Interactive and published by Infogrames Interactive. ''Party Blast'' was released for Xbox in North America on October 30, 2002, and later in PAL regions ...
'' includes Zim as a playable character in every version of the game. There are also multiple ''Invader Zim''-themed stages in ''Nickelodeon Party Blast'', including a level in which the player competes against Dib and Gaz. Although they are not playable characters, GIR can be seen in the background of several levels and Almighty Tallest Purple is shown in the background of the level where the player competes against Dib and Gaz.
In the 2004
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
exclusive game, '' Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy'', the final stage of the game takes place on Zim's ship and Zim and GIR are the final boss of the game, but Zim becomes a playable character once the photo album is complete. Additionally, GIR, Dib, Gaz, Keef, Dirge, Ms. Bitters (mistakenly called "Mr. Bitters") and Bill the Paranormal Investigator (mistakenly called "Prof. Membrane") appear in the photo album as well as in the background of various levels throughout the game.
Zim's Voot Cruiser and house can be seen briefly in different worlds in the
console
Console may refer to:
Computing and video games
* System console, a physical device to operate a computer
** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device
** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...
versions of the 2006 game '' Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island''.
In the console versions of the 2007 game '' Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots'', the EvilToyCo Factory, Zone 3 (Part 2) and the Master Model Chamber are Irken-themed. Additionally, GIR appears in the game as a Master Model ( unlockable) and becomes a playable character once he is rescued. Both Zim and GIR are unlockable and playable characters in the
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
version of ''Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots'', although there are no Invader Zim-themed levels in this version of the game.
Both Zim and Dib are playable characters in every version of the 2008 game, '' SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom''. In the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
and
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
versions of the game, the second world is modeled after and called Zim's Town, and the boss battle of the world takes place inside Zim's house and is against GIR. In the Nintendo DS version of the game, the fifth world takes place on Zim's space station and the boss battle of the world is against The Almighty Tallest.
The 2008 game, ''Nicktoons: Android Invasion'', exclusively released on the educational Didj platform, is set entirely inside Zim's base. Zim is the final boss in the game and several other characters from the series make appearances throughout the game.
The 2009
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
-exclusive game ''
Nicktoons Nitro
''Nicktoons Nitro'' is a racing video game which is a sequel to ''Nicktoons Racing'' and ''Nicktoons Winners Cup Racing''. It features Nicktoons characters from the ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''Danny Phantom'', '' The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: ...
'' includes Zim as a playable character in his Voot Cruiser, and there is a race course called "Irken City".
Zim and Gaz are playable characters in every version of the 2011 game ''
Nicktoons MLB
''Nicktoons MLB'' is a baseball video game released for the Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS platforms. The game was developed by High Voltage Software and published by 2K Play in 2011. It features playable characters from Nickelodeon ...
''. GIR appears in the game as one of the announcers, and there is a ballpark called "Irken Field". Other characters from the show appear in the game as cameos when the game is loading and on the character cards.
Zim and GIR are playable characters in the 2019 official
mobile game
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
''Nickelodeon Super Brawl Universe''. There is also a location in the game set inside Zim's base and an ''Invader Zim'' themed challenge called "Doomsday Challenge".
''Invader Zim'' characters and locations are included in the racing game, '' Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix'', released on October 6, 2020, for
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, and
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
, and released on December 1, 2020, for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
.
Zim is a playable character in the fighting game, ''
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
''Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl'' is a crossover fighting game developed by Swedish developer Ludosity and Costa Rican developer Fair Play Labs, and published by GameMill Entertainment. It is the first console game in the ''Nickelodeon Super Brawl' ...
'' released on October 5, 2021 for
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
,
Xbox Series X/S
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
,
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
, and
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
.
Zim is a playable character in the mobile game, ''Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis'' released on January 21, 2022 exclusively on
Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade is a video game subscription service offered by Apple Inc. It is available through a dedicated tab of the App Store on devices running iOS 13, tvOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina or later. The service launched on September 19 ...
. Zim's secret base is also a location in the game.
The online game ''
Smite
''Smite'' is a 2014 free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna.
Podcasts
There are two episodes of the ''
Nickelodeon Animation Podcast
Nickelodeon Animation Studio is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global. It has created many original television programs for Nickelodeon, such as ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''The Fairly OddParents'', ''Rugrats'' and '' Avatar: The ...
'' that primarily discuss ''Invader Zim''. The first one is season one episode fourteen, an interview with series creator Jhonen Vasquez, which was released on August 12, 2016. The second one is season two episode twenty-seven, an interview with the ''Invader Zim'' cast, which was released on January 6, 2017. Both episodes are available on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
and
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
.
The complete ''Invader Zim'' series was covered on "Wizard and the Bruiser" on February 21, 2019.
Comic book series
On February 20, 2015, American publishing company,
Oni Press
Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's merger with Lion Forge Comics. The merged company, Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Grou ...
announced that they would be releasing an official
Comic Book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series based on ''Invader Zim'', in collaboration with Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon. A pre-issue 0 was released on May 23, 2015, as a zine and foreshadow to the comic book series. The first issue was released on July 8, 2015, and since then most issues are released on a monthly basis.
On February 11, 2020, it was announced that the monthly ''Invader Zim'' comic would end with issue #50, which was released in March 2020, and a new comic series titled ''Invader Zim Quarterly'' would begin in June 2020, releasing on a quarterly schedule. Additionally, in July 2020, Oni Press will launch a new "Best of..." trade paperback collections, which will collect a selection of stories from Oni Press's monthly ''Invader Zim'' comic series.
Other literature
''Invader Zim'' made appearances in ''
Nickelodeon Magazine
''Nickelodeon Magazine'' is a defunct American children's magazine inspired by the children's television network Nickelodeon. Its first incarnation appeared in 1990 and was distributed at participating Pizza Hut restaurants; the version of the ma ...
'' between 2001 and 2008, which include ''Invader Zim'' trivia, exclusive interviews, and an official four-page comic titled, ''Invader Zim: Quick! Run While You Still Have Your Insides!!!'' by Jhonen Vasquez.
A book titled ''Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons!'' was published on October 29, 2007, and written by animation historian
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer.
Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including ''The 50 Greatest C ...
. The book collects more than five hundred illustrations, images, storyboards, concept art, quotes, interviews and anecdotes, among other special behind-the-scenes content for Nickelodeon's first thirty-one cartoons. ''Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons!'' contains a short chapter about ''Invader Zim'', featuring some storyboards, images, illustrations, turn-around charts, character model sheets and short, exclusive interviews with series creator Jhonen Vasquez, executive producer Mary Harrington and head writer
Frank Conniff
Frank Conniff Jr. ( ;) is an American writer, actor, comedian and producer, who is best known for his portrayal of TV's Frank on ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). He is the son of journalist and editor Frank Conniff.
Early work
Al ...
.
An official art book titled ''The Art of Invader Zim'' was released on July 28, 2020. Published by
Abrams Books
Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery.
The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. Run by President and CEO Michael ...
and written and designed by Chris McDonnell, ''The Art of Invader Zim'' contains the definitive history of the original ''Invader Zim'' television series, the ''Invader Zim'' comic book series, and the television movie, '' Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus''. It offers a fully authorized, all-access compendium of never-before-published production art, storyboards, behind-the-scenes photos, and ephemera. The art book also features exclusive interviews with Jhonen Vasquez and other key crewmembers that reveal the origins, art, and imagination behind the ''Invader Zim'' franchise.
Series writer Eric Trueheart wrote a book titled ''The Medium-Sized Book of Zim Scripts: Vol. 1: Pigs 'n' Waffles: The stories, and the stories behind the stories of your favorite Invader'', which was released digitally on April 2, 2020, and a paperback version was released on July 27, 2020. The book collects the original scripts from the episodes: "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy," "Hamstergeddon," "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff," "Zim Eats Waffles," "Mortos der Soulstealer," and the unfinished episode, "Pants!," which was later adapted into an issue of the ''Invader Zim'' comic book series. The book also contains commentary on the writing process of ''Invader Zim''.
Theme park ride
There is an ''Invader Zim''
theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
Nickelodeon Universe
Nickelodeon Universe is the name of two indoor amusement parks located at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota and American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with a third location under construction at the Mall of China in Chongqing ...
called ''Invader Zim's Flip & Spin... OF DOOM!'' which opened on October 25, 2019, along with the park. The ride is a
bumper cars
Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. Bumpe ...
style attraction where riders can spin and flip upside down on impact. The official summary of the ride states "You've been recruited for battle onboard Irk's latest militarized spacecraft. Help Zim's invasion as you flip, spin and bump into poor, unsuspecting humans."
References in other media
Zim and GIR flying in the Voot Cruiser made a
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
in the now-defunct
simulator ride
Simulator rides are a type of amusement park or fairground ride, where the audience is shown a movie while their seats move to correspond to the action on screen.
There are many types but they fall into the heading of entertainment unlike the on ...
Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast
Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast was a simulator ride at Universal Studios Florida that replaced The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera based on the 2001 movie '' Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' and it is set to take place after the events of the film. ...
at
Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...
.
In the 2013 animated feature film ''
Escape from Planet Earth
''Escape from Planet Earth'' is a 2013 computer animated comedy-adventure science fiction film produced by Rainmaker Entertainment and distributed by The Weinstein Company in the United States and Entertainment One in Canada, directed by Cal Bru ...
'', the word "Zim" can be seen written on the floor in graffiti in one brief scene, along with the names of multiple other aliens from various different movies and television shows.
''Invader Zim'' was featured as a clue on the July 29, 2013, episode of ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
''. The clue was for $2000 under the category "What a Character!" and it read "Irk is the home planet of this title 'invader.'" None of the contestants were able to answer the question correctly.
Ms. Bitters made a cameo appearance in the Nickelodeon animated series ''
The Loud House
''The Loud House'' is an American animated television series created by Chris Savino that premiered on Nickelodeon on May 2, 2016. The series revolves around the chaotic everyday life of a boy named Lincoln Loud, who is the middle child and only so ...
'' during the episode "Linc or Swim", alongside several other elderly characters from other Nicktoons series.
In the 2016
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
''TMNT: Don vs Raph'', which was written by Jhonen Vasquez, a picture of Zim is seen on the side of a building.
Questions about ''Invader Zim'' have been featured in several episodes of the 2021 game show '' Tooned In''.
''Invader Zim'' comic books and cardboard cutouts were shown in the background of the 2022 Nickelodeon series ''
Warped!
''Warped!'' is an American buddy comedy television series created by Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert that aired on Nickelodeon from January 16 to March 31, 2022. The series stars Kate Godfrey, Anton Starkman, Ariana Molkara, and Christopher Mar ...
''.
Merchandise
Home video
On October 13, 2003,
Media Blasters
Media Blasters, sometimes abbreviated as MB, is an American entertainment corporation that was founded by John Sirabella in 1997 and is based in New York City. It is in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American ...
announced that they were planning on releasing DVD collections of ''Invader Zim'' through their Anime Works imprint. They released the first volume titled ''Doom Doom Doom'' on May 11, 2004. On August 31, 2004, volume two titled ''Progressive Stupidity'' was released and on October 12, 2004, volume three titled ''Horrible Holiday Cheer'' was released, completing the series' initial DVD release. All three volumes contain animatics, Irken subtitles and digitally restored and remastered picture and sound. They also include audio commentaries for the majority of episodes, exclusive interviews with the voice actors, writers, and the post production staff and the series
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
. A box set shaped like Zim's house, known as the ''House Box Set'' has also been released, which includes all three volumes, plus an extra disc for bonus features, which includes the uncut version of "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever", voice recordings for seven of the unfinished episodes, interviews with Kevin Manthei on the sound design and music of ''Invader Zim'', and a soundtrack of Kevin Manthei's main compositions for the show. Originally, this set included a duty-mode "GIR" figurine in the roof compartment of the box set, but Media Blasters silently stopped including it with the termination of Palisades Toys, the company that had been producing ''Invader Zim'' figurines. Another DVD box set for ''Invader Zim'' called the ''Complete Invasion Box Set'' was released in 2006, featuring all three of the DVD volumes boxed together, with the art of Volume One on the cover. This box set does not contain an extra disc for bonus features like the ''House Box Set'' included. In 2004, Media Blasters also released two ''Invader Zim''
MiniDVD
MiniDVD (also Mini DVD or miniDVD) is a DVD disc which is in diameter. Most MiniDVDs hold 1.4 GB of data, but there are variants that hold up to 5.2 GB. The MiniDVD is also known as a "3 inch DVD", referring to its approximate diameter in inch ...
s, each containing one episode.
On May 4, 2010, the complete Season 1 of ''Invader Zim'' was released on DVD via
Manufacture on demand
Build-on-demand or manufacturing on demand (MOD) refers to a manufacturing process where goods are produced only when or as they are required. This allows scalability and adjustable assemblies depending on the current needs of the part requestor or ...
in a
DVD-R
DVD recordable and DVD rewritable are optical disc recording technologies. Both terms describe DVD optical discs that can be written to by a DVD recorder, whereas only 'rewritable' discs are able to erase and rewrite data. Data is written ('burne ...
format. A Season 2 DVD was released in that same format on April 2, 2010. Neither of these DVDs contain audio commentaries or special features.
On February 22, 2011, an ''Invader Zim'' DVD was released called ''Operation Doom''. This DVD contains the eight highest-rated episodes that reran on the Nicktoons Network throughout 2010.
Episodes of ''Invader Zim'' have been featured in several Nickelodeon compilation DVDs. This includes ''Nickstravaganza! 2'', which was released on September 2, 2003, and contains the episode "The Nightmare Begins". (''Nickstravaganza! 2'' was also released in a VHS format which contains the exact same contents as the DVD version.) A DVD titled ''Classic Nickelodeon Halloween Specials'', which was released on October 1, 2015, contains the episode "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom". The episode "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever" was featured in a DVD called ''A Very Nickelodeon Christmas'', which was released on November 4, 2015.
Figurines and toys
Two series of
collectible
A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...
''Invader Zim'' articulated
figurine
A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cl ...
s were produced by the company
Palisades Toys
Palisades Entertainment, LLC, better known as Palisades Toys, was an American manufacturing and distributing toy & collectibles company geared toward the adult collector market. Established in 1994, the company generally worked within the same ...
and released from 2004 to 2006. The first series includes: Zim, GIR, Dib, Ms. Bitters, and Almighty Tallest Purple. The second series includes: Zim in his human disguise, GIR in his dog suit, Gaz, Almighty Tallest Red, and the Robo-Parents. The figurines vary in height from 4-8 inches (10–20 cm). All of the characters in each series come with a detailed display base, as well as multiple character-appropriate accessories. A third series was planned to include: Zim in his Santa Suit, GIR as an elf, Professor Membrane, Tak, and Nightmare Ms. Bitters, but this series was not made because Palisades Toys, the manufacturer, ceased operations in early 2006. A multitude of other collectible ''Invader Zim'' figurines were produced before the termination of Palisades Toys. This includes figurines of: Germ Fighting Zim, Germ GIR, Zim in his old man disguise, Angry Zim, and GIR in his dog disguise with hood down. Palisades Toys released the ''Invader Zim Miniature Figurine Set... of DOOM!'' a separate set of smaller non-articulated figurines, featuring: Zim in his human disguise first seen in "The Girl Who Cried Gnome", Gaz in her Beaver Suit, Bologna Dib and GIR riding the Piggy. A miniature replica of Zim's house, the Voot Cruiser, GIR on the giant Piggy with a UFO Convention background display and a "Mega GIR" figurine that is twelve inches in height and included a removable dog disguise were also released. The ''Invader Zim Special Edition set of Doom!'' was produced by Palisades Toys, but released after the company had shut down. This set contains figurines of: Screaming Zim in his human disguise, Doggie Suit Duty Mode GIR, Neutral Faced Almighty Tallest Red, Hypnotized Dib, and Shadow Ms. Bitters.
Several ''Invader Zim'' figurines made by Palisades Toys were released as
Hot Topic
Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, ...
exclusives. These include figurines of: Angry Almighty Tallest Purple, Contemplative Almighty Tallest Red, Duty Mode GIR, Screaming GIR, Robot GIR with removable dog disguise, Haywire Robo-Parents, Snarling Ms. Bitters, Pustulio Zim, Angry Dib and Freakout Gaz.
Multiple official
Plushies
A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be cal ...
were made to promote the ''Invader Zim'' series. This includes plushies of: Zim, Germ Zim, Pustulio Zim, Piggy, Robot GIR, GIR with hot dog, GIR eating pizza, Doggie GIR, Chinese takeout GIR, GIR with Piggy, Germ GIR, GIR fuzzy car dice, GIR plush backpack, GIR eating cupcake and GIR eating ice cream. Plushies of Zim and GIR were released as part of the ''Nick '90s Jumbo Plush'' set that was made for crane machines.
Funko
Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed and limited pop culture collectibles, best known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. In addition, the company produces licensed plush, action figures, apparel, accessories ...
has released many Pop! Vinyl figures of GIR in several variations including: GIR in his dog suit, Robot GIR, GIR with cupcake, glow in the dark GIR, Zim and GIR, Zim and GIR on the pig, and a mini GIR keychain. These are usually sold as Hot Topic exclusives. A Pop! Vinyl figure of Zim with Minimoose was released as a
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
2020 exclusive.
In 2015, a company called Ikon Collectables released an officially licensed 9-inch tall limited edition statue of GIR on the pig.
In 2016, Zag Toys released some officially licensed ''Invader Zim'' Original Minis and Plush Clip-Ons.
In 2017, Vision Toys released some officially licensed laser cut 3D keychains of some ''Invader Zim'' characters.
In 2018,
Diamond Select Toys
Diamond Select Toys was founded in 1999 by sister company Diamond Comics Distributors to create collectibles for adult collectors, and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics, ''Star Wars'', ''Star Trek'', ' ...
released some Vinimates figurines of Zim, Zim in his human disguise, GIR and GIR in his dog disguise. All four of these figurines were released as Hot Topic exclusives and limited to 1,000 units each. Another set of ''Invader Zim'' Vinimates called ''Extra Doom Edition'' contains figurines of shadowy Zim and shadowy GIR. This set was released as a
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
2019 exclusive and limited to 250 units.
FOCO released some Eekeez figurines of Zim and GIR in his dog suit that were exclusively available at
New York Comic Con
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006.
History
The New York Comic Con is a f ...
in 2018. FOCO also released some Eekeez figurines variants of Zim and GIR in his dog suit that were exclusively available at San Diego Comic Con in 2018. An Eekeez figurine metallic variant of GIR was released as an
WonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and film convention held in the San Francisco Bay Area (1987–2011), then—under the name WonderCon Anaheim—in Anaheim, California (2012–2015, 2017–present), and WonderCon Los Angel ...
2019 exclusive. An Eekeez figurine metallic variant of Zim was released as an
Emerald City Comic Con
The Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC), formerly the Emerald City Comicon, is an annual comic book convention taking place in Seattle, Washington. Originally taking place at the city's Qwest Field (first at West Field Plaza, then at the Event Center), ...
2019 exclusive and limited to 300 units.
In 2020, Hot Topic released some officially licensed rubber Bend-Ems figures of Zim and Dib.
Other merchandise
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
has licensed a multitude of official ''Invader Zim'' products including: a wide variety of clothing, fashion accessories, makeup, jewelry, tabletop games, backpacks, bags, home accessories and decorations, office supplies, car accessories, household appliances, novelty items, holiday decorations, hygiene items and more, all commonly sold at stores like
Hot Topic
Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, ...
,
Newbury Comics
Newbury Comics is an American comic book and music retailer based in New England. Newbury Comics began as a comic book vendor on Newbury Street in Boston. The company was founded in 1978 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students John B ...
, Spencer's and other speciality retailers.
''Invader Zim'' merchandise has been included in
subscription box
Subscription boxes are a recurring delivery of niche products as part of a marketing strategy and a method of product distribution. Subscription boxes are used by subscription-based ecommerce businesses, referred to as "subcom" for short, which fol ...
es such as
Loot Crate
Loot Crate was a subscription box service established in 2012 which provided monthly boxes of geek- and gaming-related merchandise.
History
Loot Crate was founded in 2012 by Wes Hartman (Founder and honorary president for life with 57% of the c ...
in September 2017 and The Nick Box in fall 2020.
Failed revival attempts
In March through July 2010, reruns of ''Invader Zim'' were aired on
Nicktoons
Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
. The reruns were the second highest-rated show on the network, and according to Jhonen Vasquez, were part of a plan by the network to see if a revival of the series would be feasible. However, the budget Nickelodeon proposed was not quite big enough for what the crew wanted to do, so they respectfully declined the offer. Vasquez also asserted that, despite the widespread rumor suggesting otherwise, he would have returned to the show again had Nickelodeon not deemed the revival "too expensive" for what the crew wanted to do with it.
In 2011, Nickelodeon approached Rikki Simons, the voice of GIR, about doing some animated shorts revolving around GIR. While Simons was open to reprising his role, nothing ever came of these shorts for unknown reasons. During an ''Invader Zim'' panel at Long Beach Comic Con 2019, Simons said the reason why these GIR shorts never went anywhere might have been because "It's kinda weird to do GIR by himself. I don't know what that would be."
Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...