Invader Zim is a Nickelodeon franchise created by the Johnny the Homicidal Maniac comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for the Nickelodeon Group. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim, from the planet Irk, and his mission to conquer Earth and enslave the human race along with his malfunctioning robot servant GIR. He is antagonized by Dib, a young paranormal investigator who is determined to stop Zim from succeeding. As years passed by, The series succeeded with the comic book series, a TV film Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus as the series finale and the franchises' own fan convention known as InvaderCON.
Main plot of the franchise[]
The series centers on Zim, a member of the imperialistic Irkens, an extraterrestrial race from the planet Irk, who are bent on universal conquest and whose social hierarchy is based solely on height rather than any type of skill or intellect. The two Irken leaders, known as The Almighty Tallest, rule the Irken Empire together because they are the tallest individuals in their society and exactly the same height. As recounted in series premiere, "The Nightmare Begins", Zim is a delusional Irken outcast who is very short, and also overzealous, narcissistic, and megalomaniacal. He was banished to the Irken food court planet, Foodcourtia, for absentmindedly nearly destroying Irk and his own race during their first invasion known as Operation Impending Doom I.
When Zim learns the Irkens are planning a new invasion called Operation Impending Doom II, he, not understanding the purpose of his exile, "quits being banished" and leaves Foodcourtia and travels to the convention center planet called Conventia, for the Great Assigning, an event where Irken Elite soldiers are chosen to become Invaders and are then assigned by The Tallest to a planet. Invaders are soldiers whose missions are to blend in with the indigenous life forms of their assigned planet, collect information about the planet and its inhabitants and prepare the planet for conquest by the Irken Armada. Zim is determined to regain his status as an Invader and pleads with The Tallest to assign him a planet. In a desperate act to get Zim as far away as possible and ensure he would not ruin things the second time around, The Tallest send Zim on a fake "secret mission" to a "mystery planet" located on the outskirts of their known universe which they do not think even exists, in order to keep him occupied and away from the real invasion. Zim is joined in his mission by GIR (Rosearik Rikki Simons), an ineffective and erratic Standard Issue Information Retrieval (SIR) unit which was hastily made out of spare parts found in a trash can.
After a six month long trip across the universe, Zim finally arrives at this "mystery planet" which not only really does exist, but also coincidentally happens to be a dark, dystopian, and satirical version of Earth. Delighted with his find, Zim quickly goes to work and succeeds at setting up his base of operations in a random suburban area on Earth, much to the dismay of The Tallest. Due to his short stature, Zim disguises himself as a human child, albeit one with a green complexion that he explains away as a "skin condition", and attends a local school (spelled "Skool") in an attempt to collect knowledge about Earth and learn the planet's weaknesses. The remainder of the show focuses on Zim's time "infiltrating" the human race at school or at his home base, planning attempts at world domination, and the enslavement of humanity. Opposing Zim is his classmate Dib, a paranoid young boy who is obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural and the only human (besides his sister) who sees through Zim's disguise. Dib is determined to expose Zim as an alien and thwart his plans for world domination, despite the hostility and mockery he receives from his oblivious peers for doing so.
Supporting characters include Dib's cynical and apathetic sister Gaz; Zim and Dib's demonic teacher Ms. Bitters; and Dib and Gaz's famous, but neglectful father Professor Membrane. Later in the series, other alien characters begin to appear, including Tak, a fellow Irken seeking revenge against Zim; Lard Nar, the leader of a resistance group called The Resisty who wants to overthrow the Irken Empire; and Sizz-Lorr, Zim's former Irken employer on Foodcourtia who attempts to recapture his employee.
Apart from eight double-length episodes (including the debut), each episode is a self-contained storyline. Some occurrences from previous episodes are mentioned, but there is little continuing storyline other than the main invasion plot. However, towards the end of the show, a larger universe of characters and organizations were introduced to build continuity: Tak appearing and seeking revenge against Zim; Dib's capture and repair of Tak's spaceship to travel through space; resistances to the Irken Empire such as the Meekrob and The Resisty; and other various devices which were becoming more and more a part of the show's central mythology.
Main characters of the franchise[]
- Zim; Invader Zim is the titular main antagonist of the franchise. He is an Irken serving the Irken Empire as an Invader. Because of his incompetence, Zim was banished to Earth by the Almighty Tallests under the guise of being sent to conquer it.
- GIR; GIR is a robot character from the franchise who is typically disguised as a green dog. He often behaves in unpredictable and strange ways.
- Dib; Dib Membrane is the main protagonist of the franchise. a young paranormal investigator,all around freak,and alien obssesser that intercepted the words. He is very antagonistic only to Zim's incompetent Earth-conquering plans.
- Gaz; Gazlene "Gaz" Membrane is the menacing younger sister of Dib Membrane and the overall tritagonist and the deutagonist of the franchise.
- Professor Membrane; Professor Membrane is one of the main supporting characters and the tritagonist in the franchise. He is the father of Dib and Gaz, but he has very little time for his offspring, being one of the most famous and important people on Earth.
- Ms. Bitters; Bitters is a minor antagonist of the Invader Zim franchise. She is the teacher of Zim's and Dib's class at Skool. A tall, slender old woman of unknown age or origin, she's a grumpy hag who is devoid of any positive emotion and full of demonic hatred for the sun, children, and life in general.
- Almighty Tallest Red; Almighty Tallest Red is the co-ruler of the mighty Irken Empire. As their title suggests, Red and Purple oversee and dominate their species as they spread their reign across the universe.
- Almighty Tallest Purple; Almighty Tallest Purple is the co-ruler of the Irken Empire. He and Red are the tallest Irkens currently alive (now deceased), thus giving them joint sovereignty over all aspects of the Irken race.
Pilot[]
:Main article: Invader Zim (Pilot)
A pilot for Invader Zim was produced for Nickelodeon in 1999, featuring Billy West as the voice of Zim. It was first released publicly as a special feature on the Invader Zim Vol. 1: Doom Doom Doom DVD set on May 11, 2004. The pilot made its television debut on Nicktoons on December 24, 2011, as part of their "Nicktoon's Winter Funderland" block. The plot of the pilot begins when Zim finds that he is severely allergic to the school cafeteria's food, and Dib uses this fact to try to prove to the other children that Zim is an alien.
The Nightmare Begins[]
:Main article: The Nightmare Begins (Invader Zim)
"The Nightmare Begins" is the series premiere of the American animated television series Invader Zim. It originally aired in the United States on Nickelodeon on March 30, 2001.
This is the first official episode to feature Richard Horvitz as Zim. In the pilot episode, he was originally portrayed by Mark Hamill, and then Billy West. Shortly after the cancellation of The Angry Beavers, he was brought in as a potential voice of Zim, and was asked to record over certain lines for the pilot. Though neither his nor Hamill's cuts made to an official release, Horvitz remained the voice of Zim for the remainder of the series.
The episode's production and writing has been a prior to airing of Invader Zim, Nickelodeon desired a series to suit its "eleven to fifteen year-old" demographic and even on commentary it is also said that the Tallest are redesigned after this episode, which can be seen by their new armour the next time they appear in the episode Germs. All the main characters are introduced in this episode, as are the prominent locations used in the series. Important plot points such as the conflict between Zim and Dib are presented. This conflict continues throughout the series with brief moments when they're forced to work together.
TV Series[]
- Main article: Invader Zim (TV series)
After finishing the tv pilot and the franchise's very first tv show episode The Nightmare Begins, The series went on with declined ratings and budgetary issues became more frequent. Before the second season was completed, Nickelodeon cancelled the series, leaving several episodes unfinished. The show originally ran 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 in 2004 and later made their television debut on the Nicktoons Network in 2006.
Related media[]
Netflix film[]
- Main article: Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus
On November 8, 2016, Harvey Beak and Chowder 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 a 71-minute television film 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 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 as Zim, Rosearik Rikki Simons as GIR, Andy Berman as Dib, Melissa Fahn as Gaz, Wally Wingert as Almighty Tallest Red, Kevin McDonald as Almighty Tallest Purple, Rodger Bumpass as Professor Membrane, Olivia d'Abo as Tak and Paul Greenberg as Poonchy.
At San Diego Comic-Con 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 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 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.
On May 10, 2019, Viacom president Robert Bakish 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 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 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 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 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 and Wii 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-exclusive game Nicktoons Nitro 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. 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 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, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, and released on December 1, 2020, for Microsoft Windows.
Zim is a playable character in the fighting game, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl released on October 5, 2021 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.
Podcasts[]
There are two episodes of the Nickelodeon Animation Podcast 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, iTunes and SoundCloud.
The complete Invader Zim series was covered on "Wizard and the Bruiser" on February 21, 2019.
Comic book series[]
- Main article: Invader Zim (comics)
On February 20, 2015, American publishing company, Oni Press announced that they would be releasing an official Comic Book 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 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. 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.
An official art book titled The Art of Invader Zim was released on July 28, 2020. Published by Abrams Books 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 ride at American Dream's Nickelodeon Universe called Invader Zim's Flip & Spin... OF DOOM! which opened on October 25, 2019, along with the park. The ride is a bumper cars 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 in the now-defunct simulator ride Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast at Universal Studios Florida.
In the 2013 animated feature film Escape from Planet Earth, 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!. 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 during the episode "Linc or Swim", alongside several other elderly characters from other Nicktoons series.
In the 2016 short film TMNT: Don vs Raph, which was written by Jhonen Vasquez, a picture of Zim is seen on the side of a building.
InvaderCON[]
Invader Zim has its own fan convention known as InvaderCON, run by Wasabi Anime (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, Georgia 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, Melissa Fahn, Rosearik Rikki Simons, Andy Berman 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, California, featuring all of the previous year's guests (except for Andy Berman) with the addition of series creator Jhonen Vasquez, character designer Aaron Alexovich, voice of Professor Membrane Rodger Bumpass, post-production supervisor Jason Stiff, storyboard artist Ian Graham and a surprise appearance from voice of Almighty Tallest Red Wally Wingert. During this convention there was a panel where the voice cast read the script for the unfinished episode "The Trial".
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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 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. 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, Massachusetts on August 7–9, 2020, as part of Fan Expo Boston. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been postponed to August 6–8, 2021, along with Fan Expo Boston.
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, the co-creator of the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, was a storyboard artist and art director on Invader Zim. Konietzko has said that the character of 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, the creator of the Cartoon Network animated series Steven Universe, is a fan of Invader Zim and has admitted to reading and writing fan fiction and drawing fan art 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 [Jhonen Vasquez] and thank him for changing my life." Additionally, Sugar provided the foreword 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 and Helluva Boss, 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, the voice of Almighty Tallest Red, noted during an interview with Den of Geek that "[T]he reason other shows like Adventure Time are [able to do some pretty intense stuff] is because the trail was blazed by [Jhonen Vasquez]. When Invader Zim came out, [the intense stuff we did on the show] was the new barometer by which you could get away with something. Up until then, all the other cartoons were relatively tame, but now you're seeing way darker stuff [in cartoons] than we ever did on Zim."
In 2019, Screen Rant's Maddy Cohen observed that "[A]rguably, Invader Zim is one of the most influential animated shows to come out of [the early 2000s], with echoes of its humor and tone present in Adventure Time, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, and Steven Universe." That same year, Eric Vilas-Boas from Thrillist wrote "[Invader Zim] remained an influential cult classic, informing future cartoons like Avatar: The Last Airbender all the way up to Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Rick and Morty, and beyond."
Controversy[]
Invader Zim became a controversial series when the show was mentioned at Scott Dyleski'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.
Merchandise[]
- Main article: Invader Zim merchandise
Home video[]
On October 13, 2003, Media Blasters 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. 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 MiniDVDs, each containing one episode.
On May 4, 2010, the complete Season 1 of Invader Zim was released on DVD via Manufacture on demand in a DVD-R 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 Invader Zim articulated figurines were produced by the company Palisades Toys 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 2019 exclusive. An Eekeez figurine metallic variant of Zim was released as an Emerald City Comic Con 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 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, Newbury Comics, Spencer's and other speciality retailers.
Invader Zim merchandise has been included in subscription boxes such as Loot Crate 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. 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."
Notes[]
- The final episode, "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever" (S02E07), originally aired on Nickelodeon on December 10, 2002, before the rest of the second season. All six of the prior episodes from the second season were first released on DVD on October 12, 2004, prior to their respective television debuts on Nicktoons in 2006.
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