Invader Zim

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ZIM wishes to take over the world, whilst GIR is obsessed with, well, whatever's in front of him at the time.

Invader fart is a 2001 animated television series created by comic book fucking idiot writer/artist Jhonen Vasquez who was banging his girlfriend when he created it and it aired on Nickelodeon. The show's interesting animation, quirky humor, and dark, cynical style gave it a devoted cult following. Disappointed with its low ratings and high production costs, Nickelodeon cancelled the show. One and a half seasons of Invader Zim were completed. It was first broadcasted in March 2001. Invader Zim DVD compilations have been released by Media Blasters. The series has since been translated into several different languages for foreign broadcast.

Zim is a member of the mighty Irken race, a species of aliens whose social hierarchy is based on height. The Irken leaders are the Almighty Tallest (during the course of the show, leadership of the Irken Empire is shared by two Tallest who are exactly the same height). Zim was banished to the planet Foodcourtia as a frycook for the remainder of his life for destroying a sizable portion of an Irken city with a giant robot, known as the Frontline Battle Mech. The robot was part of Operation Impending Doom I, a major galactic conquest venture by the Irkens. Zim was overeager (as usual) and activated his robot before leaving his home planet, much to the chagrin and hatred of his leaders.

Upon hearing of Operation Impending Doom II, Zim "quits" being banished and arrives at the Great Assigning where Irken Elite soldiers are chosen to become Invaders, special soldiers whose mission it is to blend in with the indigenous life forms of their assigned planet and collect intelligence. Zim pleads with the Tallest to assign him a planet, and in a desperate act to get Zim as far away as possible, assign him to a "Mystery Planet", which turns out to be Earth.

The show features the exploits of Zim trying to conquer the Earth while his arch-nemesis Dib tries to stop him.

In a Nickelodeon Magazine Special, there was a short 4 page comic of "Invader Zim" that ended the series with Zim taking over the world while Dib wasn't looking, then inviting Dib to go into space with him and ride giant alien bunnies. But another possible ending would end up with Zim failing to take over the world in the episode "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever", which was the last episode made of the series, where we see 2 million years into the future and the humans are not conquered or destroyed. Santa, however, has become an intergalactic chaos beast. But then again, it could also be possible that over such a long course of time, power over Earth could have shifted hands.

Invader Zim DVDs are now available.

Characters and notable groups

Zim

Main article: Zim (Invader Zim)

Zim is a short, green, almost stereotypical looking alien from the planet Irk. He is trying to conquer the Earth, and is generally unsuccessful. He has a penchant for being over-dramatic, saying phrases like "I AM ZIM!" and "Silence!", and uses ridiculously excessive and elaborate plans to conquer the planet when he obviously has the resources to do so much more efficiently. Zim's usual disguise consists of some contact lenses and a wig, leaving his green skin clearly visible. Other costumes include an old man disguise and a bear suit. Exposure to water (as well as barbecue sauce and many other liquids) causes his skin to burn. When his face came in contact with bacon grease and soap, he grew a hypnotic pimple (named Pustulio).

During the early moments of the episode Megadoomer, the box sent to Zim merely had his name on it, but the other Invader's mail had the invader title on it. This, combined with numerous unsubtle statements along the same lines by a decent-sized portion of the cast, leads one to believe that Zim isn't technically an Invader. The episode The Frycook What Came From All That Space reveals that Zim was officially demoted from the rank of Invader directly following Operation Impending Doom One, and Tak (in the episode Tak: The Hideous New Girl) points out that the Tallest lied to Zim about his still being an Invader.

Zim is voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz. Horvitz has also voiced the somewhat similar (personality-wise) Orthopox in the video game, Destroy All Humans! for the Playstation 2 and Xbox, and the hyperactive beaver Daggett in The Angry Beavers, another Nickelodeon show that was also cancelled.

GIR

Main article: GIR (Invader Zim)

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Stock art of GIR

GIR is a dysfunctional version of the Irken SIR (Standard Information Retrieval) units given to Irken invaders (and it is worth noting that no one, least of all GIR himself, knows what the "G" in GIR stands for). In order to avoid wasting a functional SIR unit on Zim, GIR was constructed from junk parts. Even the Almighty Tallest were surprised when he got up and introduced himself. The downside is that he is completely insane. Zim blames him for most of the problems on the mission, regardless of whether or not it is his fault. His disguise is not much better than Zim's and consists of a bright green dog suit. It is only effective because no one else notices anything strange at all.

GIR takes a lackadaisical approach to life, mostly concerned with his squeaky toys, food, the Scary Monkey Show, and the Doom Song. Only rarely does he enter "duty mode," which is denoted by the change of colour in his eyes, wrists, antenna, and stomach from cyan to red. In "duty mode," he functions more or less like a real SIR, but in the episode "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", Zim tried to lock him into duty mode, and GIR tried to destroy Zim for being "a threat to the mission".

GIR is voiced by Rosearik Rikki Simons.

Dib

Main article: Dib (Invader Zim)

A member of Zim's class at the school they both attend. Dib has been obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural since an early age. An avid cryptozoologist, Dib is often criticised by his classmates for being "crazy" or mentally unstable due to his outlandish theories. He apparently is the only human to recognize or care that Zim is an alien and makes it clear that he will live to stop Zim at every turn. Like Zim, Dib is also presented with a variety of prospective outcomes. A possible series finale, "Invader Dib", has Dib teaming with the Resisty and successfully destroying the Irken empire.

Dib is voiced by Andy Berman.

Gaz

Main article: Gaz (Invader Zim)

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Gaz, as she appears in season 2

Gaz is Dib's younger, creepy, antisocial sister, often described as "Dib's scary sister." She has a penchant for video games and pizza. She knows and admits that Zim is an alien, but doesn't care because she thinks he's too stupid to take over the world. It can be assumed that she is a goth due to her attire, but it has been confirmed by Jhonen Vasquez himself that it is actually his dark stylings (and a reference to the outfit Pepito wears in Squee!). As seen in Bloaty's Pizza Hog, GIR appears to be mildly infatuated with her, much to her anger and hatred.

Gaz is voiced by Melissa Fahn.

Professor Membrane

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Professor Membrane in the episode "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever"

He is the world's smartest man, inventor of SuperToast, and father of Dib and Gaz. Membrane's scientific abilities are offset by his poor parenting: he spends little time with his children, in at least one episode fails to recognize Dib as his son, and has little time for Dib's parascience, considering him insane. He hosts his own TV show, "Probing the Membrane of Science", and his incredible technology is frequently utilised by Dib and sometimes Zim. He hates Santa Claus, and apparently provides the whole planet with electricity. In "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever", he possesses the power to shoot energy out of his hand; he also seems to not wear anything under his lab coat as well. He keeps the remains of his late wife preserved in a jar.

Professor Membrane is voiced by Rodger Bumpass.

Ms. Bitters

Teacher of Dib and Zim's class. Devoid of any compassionate emotion, she is a tall, slender aged woman of unknown origin. Also seen in Vasquez's earlier Squee! as Todd's teacher, she apparently posseses eerie powers, including the ability to materialize out of shadows and adopt snake-like features. In some early episodes, she has a moustache.

It has been confirmed that Ms. Bitters is not human, but not Irken because she did get lice at the end of the episode "Lice!". Whatever she is, she cannot stand sunlight, as seen in 'Voting of the Doomed'. According to her own recollections, she was once a fairy princess until she was shocked with a bugzapper in a flashback in "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom", and before that, she had dreams to become an astronaut until her spaceship imploded in the vacuum of space. These may have been lies to horrify her students, whom she despises along with everything else.

Ms. Bitters is voiced by Lucille Bliss.

Old Kid

A minor character introduced in episode 1 and rarely seen again. He is a child with the head of an old man. Voiced by series creator Jhonen Vasquez under the name "Mr. Scolex," as was Zim's computer. Old Kid was inspired by the friendly security guard of the studio where Invader Zim was made, who always had something nice to say such as "How y'all doin'?" or "Tuesday today..."

Scary Monkey (Sometimes called Angry Monkey)

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Another minor character who is shown throughout the series, mostly as the focus of the "Scary Monkey Show" (which GIR adores), but shown in person during a few episodes such as FBI Warning Of Doom where he is in Slab Rankle's jail for unknown reasons. Nothing else is known about the Scary Monkey, except that ZIM seems to have something against "that horrible monkey", as he calls him.

The Swollen Eyeball Network

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A group of conspiracy theorists who have an astonishingly high burden of proof, at least as far as grade-school alien invaders are concerned. Dib is, of course, a member (albeit a junior one, with the alias "Agent Mothman"). Dib spends a fair amount of his time trying to convince the membership of the threat posed by Zim. Dib, for the majority of the series, communicates with them via video-conferencing, where their identities are hidden by poor lighting. Instead, they appear as solid-black figures with somewhat-thick white outlines and solid-red oval discs for eyes, disguised behind nicknames like Agent Nessie, Agent Disembodied-Head, and Agent Tunaghost. No masking is done for their voices, and their mouths are never seen. Motion is limited to simple actions like shrugs. (Possible anonymity protocols?)

However, Dib makes direct contact with Agent Darkbooty (who turns out to be a janitor for NASA) in the episode Battle of the Planets. Darkbooty assists Dib, meaning that most likely he saw Zim on the Mars cameras, but in the episode "Zim Eats Waffles", he seems to have no recollection of this because he doesn't believe Dib about Zim, and even goes so far as to say, "You disgust me."

Agent Darkbooty is voiced by Star Trek regular John DeLancie.

The Almighty Tallest

Main article: Almighty Tallest

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The Tallest, Red and Purple, as they appered in "The Nightmare Begins".

The Irken Empire has a hierarchal class structure, where shorter individuals are both figuratively and literally looked down upon. The tallest Irken born in a specific generation takes command of the Empire as "the Tallest", but since Red and Purple, the two current Tallest, are the exact same height, they share equal (and nigh-supreme) power.

The Tallest are little more than "figureheads" introduced to give the Irken populace something to identify with (and idolize) in the imperium. They travel around to observe and supervise Operation Impending Doom II in "The Massive", the largest and most powerful ship in the Irken Armada. Its armor is so well-developed that it has survived plunging through the outer layer of a sun, repeated meteor impacts and multiple laser strikes without compromising its critical systems. The Tallest stand on a central dais located in the bow of the ship, surrounded by crew operating at computer terminals (though their systems also have a solid voice interface), with a large panoramic glass screen spanning a good portion of the wall in front of the dais. The only armament ever displayed is a wide laser pulse that fired out of the bow. The side pods contain food and snacks, with the power core located in the central pod. It is capable of teleporting objects, and there is no visible propulsion system of any sort. The Massive was designed by an alien from the planet Vort.Template:Inote

The voice of Almighty Tallest Purple was done by Kevin McDonald of Kids in the Hall. The voice of Almighty Tallest Red was done by Wally Wingert, who on Power Rangers in Space provided the voice of Psycho Blue.

There have also been two known Tallest before Red and Purple. Their names were Almighty Tallest Miyuki and Almighty Tallest Spork. They were both eaten alive by a creature created by Zim while he was a scientist at the Vort Reasearch Station 6, named the Infinite Energy Absorbing Blob. Tallest Miyuki was the first (and, currently, only?) female ruler of Irk (the position seemed to originally given only to male Irkens).

Tak

Tak is the only other Irken to have visited Earth. Tak's examination on the planet Devastis that would grant her the coveted rank and title of Invader was postponed. Zim, by using the energy cannon of a Maim Bot (a giant assault mech) on a stubborn snack-dispenser, overloaded the power grid for half of the planet, trapping Tak behind an automated door that refused to open.

As her examination venue was one of the areas still receiving power, the tests continued unabated. The Control Brain that handled testing could only find an open slot for Tak for 70 years later, owing to the massive backlog the blackout caused. She was later transferred to a janitorial squad on the planet Dirt. She possesses a customized Irken personal cruiser, a customized SIR unit named "Mimi" disguised as a cat, and a mad plan to accelerate her acquisition of the Invader title involving Earth by pumping out the Earth's core of magma and filling it with snacks, as a gift for the Tallest.

She has purple eyes and a cape of sorts that resembles the one Johnny wears in Jhonen Vasquez's Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Her boots are also similar to Johnny's own. Her human disguise is a holographic projection upon herself. In this state she has blue hair, earrings and a beauty spot. Even in her disguise she still has only two fingers and a thumb. Mimi has a holographic projection of a cat whose ears resemble horns, and can flit about in a shadowlike form.

After being forcibly ejected, her ship falls into the hands of Dib, who discovers that her personality is programmed into its computer, and starts to repair it.

She was intended to return in at least one later episode, but the show was cancelled before this came about. Despite this, she continues to be a fan favorite.

Tak is voiced by Olivia D'Abo.

The Irken Empire

A large interstellar empire of bipedal insectoids that spends its time subjugating lesser races and utilizing their planets for their own needs. Height determines rank in their social hierarchy; the tallest being(s) act(s) as their leader(s). The empire is run from their home planet of Irk, and they have a policy of centralizing all major departments on conquered (or possibly uninhabited) planets. For example, planet Devastis is marked as the prime venue for elite training. Conquered planets are converted into utility locations for use by the empire, such as Foodcourtia, Callnowia, or the "Parking Structure Planet".

The leaders are leaders in name mostly. The emotionless Control Brains (sentient supercomputers that are the combined intellect, wisdom and consciousness of all Irken ancestors), are the actual movers and shakers of their nation. It is also interesting to note that it is revealed that most Irken technology (or at least the Massive) was adapted from conquered species like the Vortians, and not created by the Irkens themselves.

Earth

In the universe of Invader Zim, Earth and human civilization are notably more advanced than the early 21st century. Advanced technology abounds: teleporters are featured in the Lice episode, and in "Zim eats waffles", Dib's videoconferencing monitors are capable of levitation. This levitation technology is present in several other episodes. Earth culture and society are different as well. Valentine's day is celebrated by the exchanging of slabs of meat, and the cards and candy tradition has faded into distant memory. All in all, however, the portrayal of Earth is one of a planet of morons, oblivious to the threat (or lack thereof) posed by Zim and the Irken Empire. One can also interpret the portrayal as a satire of modern society. Filth, squalor, bureaucracy, and corruption are everpresent in the Earth of Invader Zim - in short, the human condition is essentially the same.

Magic

Events in the Invader Zim universe are generally of an implausible nature. This includes the existence of magic. Spelldrives and alternate dimensions are used in several episodes.

Invader Skoodge

Invader Skoodge was shown in the first episode as being the shortest, fattest Invader, and in a culture that idolizes height, was at an instant disadvantage. In scorn of his stature, the Tallest sent him to invade Planet Blorch, "home of the Slaughtering Rat People". Expecting his demise, the Tallest were greatly surprised by Skoodge being not only able to successfully take the planet, but to be the first Invader to do so in the entire operation. To present a more suitable figurehead of the Irken fleet, Skoodge was fired from a cannon into the planet he conquered. A taller, random Irken civilian was dubbed Invader Skoodge, and paraded in front of the cameras. Skoodge apparently was to be a very big influence on seasons two and three (if the series wasn't cancelled). He was to be hiding from the Tallest in Zim's basement and was later to be in many future episodes such as "Day of Da Spookies".

Was voiced by Ted Raimi

The Spooky Chihuahua

A small, chihuahua-like dog with a lobotomy scar and a strange right eyeball, somehow appears in almost every episode created (The original idea was to include the chihuahua in every episode, but they never got around to it). Everybody, especially Zim, seems to greatly fear this dog and shriek in horror when it is spotted.

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Spooky Chihuahua

The character's formal name is The Spooky Chihuahua, but because it's never stated in the series, it's often been called the Madness Dog by fans because Zim usually screams "MADNESS!" at the sight of the dog. However, in the episode Walk For Your Lives, he yelled "Dog with Meat, DOG WITH MEAT!".

The Dog would seem to be a indirect reference to Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, as Johnny remarks that he encountered a Chihuahua and had a similar reaction to it as Zim.

The DVD commentary explains why the dog was eventually abandoned, as Jhonen and others just found that the running gag was just not a funny one at all.

Minimoose

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Stock art of Minimoose

A tiny, rounded moose figure, present as Zim's second helper (apart from GIR) in one episode only. In The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever, Zim explains that Minimoose is his sidekick, and that he has always been there, which caused confusion to (however, the show's unpredictable nature made this almost plausable). Unfinished scripts show he was supposed to debut in the unproduced second season episode, Nubs of Doom. Minimoose is strangely cute for an invention of Zim's world, and the fact that it's a moose is part of a running joke in the series of including moose and pigs in the episodes. Minimoose was created for Zim by the alien race of Vortians. He has extremely dangerous weapons hidden in his "nubs"— which could be refering to either the small antlers on the sides of his head or the four bumps that serve as his legs. His favourite activities include floating and squeaking—the only form of communication of which he is capable. In the commentary to The Most Horrible X-mas Ever, almost everyone of the voice cast went "Awwww..." and made other verbal signs of affecton in response to Minimoose's name. The actual personality of Minimoose is unknown, as he is incapable of communicatiing intelligibly, even though Gir and Zim understand him.

Minimoose's squeaks and squeals were done by Jhonen Vasquez.

Piggies

Many of these creatures are seen throughout Zim. GIR is obsessed with piggies and has one nearly all the time. In the episode "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy", Zim uses all of GIR's piggies to replace vital items in Dib's past in an attempt to destroy him. Another reference to pigs is Bloaty from Bloaty's Pizza Hog.

Gaz is can be seen drawing piggies in the episode Bloaty's Pizza Hog.

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Bloody GIR.

Bloody GIR

Bloody GIR is a little hidden secret placed into certain episodes of the series by the crew of Invader Zim. It features a picture of GIR covered in blood, hence the name. To see them, one would need a player that can do a frame by frame, and would need good eyes to spot the frame that has the bloody GIR. For example, in Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy, towards the end, if one looked at the final pig as Zim throws it into the portal, they would find this image. Another example would be in the opening sequence of episode 22 (Mortos Der Soulstealer/Zim Eats Waffles) when the pipes come flying out of Zim's house before it pans to Dib.

Music

The music for Invader Zim was composed by Kevin Manthei and is in a digital techno style. The title music was done by Mark Tortoroci, but Kevin arranged it. Manthei, however, did do the music for the end credits and all the music for the actual episodes.

References and "inside jokes"

Fans of Vasquez's pre-Zim comic books will instantly identify Zim as "his" work; the show is suffused with the same highly-developed visual style and unique sense of humour that are showcased in series like Squee! and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Furthermore, some characters—such as schoolteacher Miss Bitters—are direct adaptations of similar characters seen in those two series, and even some of Vasquez's lesser known characters and symbols (like Filler Bunny, the giant-toothed vampire, the "Z?" logo, Devi's doll, or the moronic aliens from Squee #1) have cameo appearances. Also appearing in cameos are Vasquez himself and many members of the show's cast/crew (e.g. director/producer Steve Ressel).

Recurring gags include frequent references to meat (of various types), pigs, squirrels, moose, the large size of Dib's head, and doom. The show also makes occasional references to classic works of horror or science fiction, ranging from Dawn of the Dead to Fantastic Voyage, Jurassic Park to Alien. In one episode called "Rise of the Zit Boy", Gaz is seen sitting on the steps to the school's back entrance reading a book called "Punch Club" which also has an image of a clenched fist on its cover, doubtless a reference to Fight Club.

The biggest reference to Vasquez's work, aside from Ms. Bitters, is the brief appearance of what appears to be Johnny C. in The Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom wherein one of the Halloweenies looks exactly like a shadow form of Johnny during the period of his life where he had two locks of hair shaped like a rabbit's ears.

Other notes

Due to the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, several episodes were edited to remove material which, at the time, might have been considered in poor taste. Those episodes include "Walk For Your Lives" (the explosion was changed from red to green), "Door to Door" (the VMU helmet sequence is completely different), "Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars", "The Girl Who Cried Gnome" (there was a scene in this where we see rescue workers trying to get Moofy's foot out of the hole, but Nickelodeon thought this scene made fun of the rescue workers involved in 9-11) and the majority of season 2.

However, in the case of "Door to Door" when the episode first aired, Nickelodeon accidentally showed the uncut VMU helmet sequence. This version showed a flaming city with the Statue of Liberty in the background.

Episodes

First Season

In the order originally aired

• 0. Pilot (Food Fight) (Unaired; can be viewed on the first DVD)
• 1. The Nightmare Begins
• 2a. Parent Teacher Night
• 2b. Walk of Doom
• 3a. Bestest Friend
• 3b. NanoZim
• 4a. Germs
• 4b.Dark Harvest
• 5a. Attack of the Saucer Morons
• 5b.The Wettening
• 6a. Career Day
• 6b. Battle-Dib
• 7a. A Room With a Moose
• 7b. Hamstergeddon
• 8a. Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain
• 8b. Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy
• 9a.Planet Jackers
• 9b. Rise of the Zitboy
• 10a. Plague of Babies
• 10b. Bloaty's Pizza Hog
• 11a. Bolognius Maximus
• 11b. Game Slave 2
• 12. Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom
• 13a. Mysterious Mysteries
• 13b. Future Dib
• 14a. Door to Door
• 14b. FBI Warning of Doom
• 15. Battle of the Planets
• 16a. Abducted
• 16b. The Sad, Sad Tale of Chickenfoot
• 17a. Megadoomer
• 17b. Lice
• 18. Tak: The Hideous New Girl
• 19a. GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff
• 19b. Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom
• 20a. Hobo 13
• 20b. Walk for Your Lives

Note: "Mysterious Mysteries / Future Dib" to "Hobo 13 / Walk For Your Lives" were produced as part of season 1, therefore, they are listed as part of season 1, not 2. In Season 2, the animation style is slightly different than season 1. Also, all episodes in Season 2 except "The Most Horrible Christmas Ever" were not aired in the US.

Second season

In the order originally aired, though Backseat Drivers and on weren't aired in America

• 21. The Most Horrible X-mas Ever
• 22. Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars
• 23a. Mortos Der Soulstealer
• 23b. Zim Eats Waffles
• 24a. The Girl Who Cried Gnome
• 24b. Dibship Rising
• 25a. Vindicated!
• 25b. The Voting of the Doomed
• 26. Gaz, Taster of Pork
• 27. The Frycook What Came from All That Space

Unfinished Episodes

• 28a. Roboparents Gone Wild
• 28b. Simon Says Doom
• 29a. Invader Poonchy
• 29b. Nubs of Doom
• 30a. 10 Minutes to Doom
• 30b. Gir's Big Day
• 31a. The Return of Keef
• 31b. Day of da Spookies
• 32a. Mopiness of Doom
• 32b. Those!
• 33. Top of the Line
• 34. The Trial
• 35a. It Feeds on Noodles
• 35b. Pants!
• 36. Squishy: Hugger of Worlds

Four more episode outlines exist, but in such an unadvanced state that the titles were never decided on by the time the series was cancelled. These include a two-part finale in which Dib was to fight the Irken Armada by going to the aid of the planet Meekrob (assigned to Invader Tenn).

There were also plans for a TV movie special, Invader Dib, which would have possibly carried on from the finale.

DVD collection

In May 2004 Nickelodeon and Media Blasters finally released the first volume of an official Invader Zim DVD collection. Titled "Volume 1: Doom Doom Doom", the two disc set includes nine half-hour episodes (most of which are comprised of 2 quarter-hour sub-episodes):

• 1. The Nightmare Begins
• 2A. Bestest Friend; 2B. NanoZim
• 3A. Parent Teacher Night; 3B. Walk of Doom
• 4A. Germs; 4B. Dark Harvest
• 5A. Attack of the Saucer Morons; 5B. The Wettening
• 6A. Career Day; 6B. Battle-Dib
• 7A. Planet Jackers; 7B. Rise of the Zitboy
• 8A. Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain; 8B. Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy
• 9A. A Room with a Moose; 9B. Hamstergeddon

Note on episode numbers/order: the information above was obtained from the DVD itself and does not necessarily reflect the original order of airing, since the DVDs followed the production order of the episodes, while the order Nickelodeon aired them in does not. In fact, if you follow the episodes' original production number order, many episodes that air along side each other now wouldn't had they followed the production order. For example, Planet Jackers would be paired with Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy and Rise of the Zitboy would be paired with Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain, just to name a few.

The DVD collection includes numerous "extras" such as the Zim pilot episode and alternate audio tracks with commentary by series creator Vasquez and various cast/crew.

Within weeks of its initial availability, Invader Zim Volume 1 became one of the top 100 currently selling items on popular online retailer Amazon.com, giving fans hope that Volume 2 would be released with minimal delay.

The second volume is titled "Volume 2: Progressive Stupidity", and like Volume 1 contains two discs (titled discs 3 and 4). The episodes included are:

• 10A. Plague of Babies; 10B. Bloaty's Pizza Hog
• 11A. Door to Door; 11B. FBI Warning of Doom
• 12A. Bolognius Maximus; 12B. Game Slave 2
• 13. Battle of the Planets
• 14. Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom
• 15A. Mysterious Mysteries; 15B. Future Dib
• 16A. Hobo 13; 16B. Walk For Your Lives
• 17A. Megadoomer; 17B. Lice
• 18A. Abducted; 18B. The Sad, Sad Tale of Chickenfoot

The third volume is titled "Volume 3: Horrible Holiday Cheer", contains discs 5 and 6 of the set, and includes the following episodes:

• 19A. GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff; 19B. Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom
• 20. Tak: the Hideous New Girl
• 21. Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars
• 22A. Mortos Der Soulstealer; 22B. Zim Eats Waffles
• 23A. Girl Who Cried Gnome; 23B. Dibship Rising
• 24A. Vindicated!; 24B. Voting of the Doomed
• 25. Gaz, Taster of Pork
• 26. The Frycook What Came From All That Space
• 27. The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever

The DVD sets have animatics, apparently accurate Irken subtitles, and digitally restored and remastered picture and sound, as well as a Spanish language track. They also include commentary with the actors, writers, and the production staff.

The episode "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever" was falsely advertised as being the uncut version on the DVD box, but instead showed the same version that was shown on Nickelodeon. However, when the cast and crew did the commentary for the episode, they were watching the uncut version. The uncut version was later released on the Extras Disc in the box set.

A boxed set has also been released. The box is in the shape of Zim's house. The door opens to reveal the DVDs, while the top opens to reveal a Duty Mode GIR figure which is the same size as the GIR from Palisades figure. An extra disk is also included with extra content, including the uncut version of "the Most Horrible X-Mas Ever". The box is available both with and without the other discs.

There is also a rumor spreading at the BBRP Babble that a new fresh set of DVDs will be made soon, with more language tracks, games, newly-recorded commentary, and much more.

Merchandise

Two series of figures were made by Palisades Toys in 2005. They vary in height from 4–8 inches (10–20 cm). Series one contains alien Zim, undisguised GIR, Dib, Ms. Bitters, and Almighty Tallest purple. Hot Topic variations of volume one included Duty Mode Gir, Screaming Zim, Irritated Almighty Tallest Purple, frustrated Dib, and enraged Ms. Bitters. Series two contains human Zim, disguised GIR, Gaz, Almighty Tallest red, and Zim's Roboparents. Also releasd as extras were a set of keychains, with Bologna Dib, Gir riding a Pig, Fat Human Zim [from the "The Girl Who Cried Gnome", and the Christmas Episode] and Beaver Gaz [from the Pork Taster episode.] Special toys also include a large Gir with Dog Costume and Voot Cruiser with Zim and Gir. Each figure comes with a set of appropriate accessories and a display base. There is a series two variant made by Hot Topic planned for release early 2006, which include Pastulio, Roboparents with a glitch, screaming costumed gir [with the hood down], angered Big Eyes Gaz and screaming Almighty Tallest Red.

Attempts to put Zim back in production

Creative differences with Nickelodeon drove Jhonen Vasquez from the show. Even if the show is ever picked up again, key staff members such as Steve Ressel and Jhonen Vasquez have stated that they no longer wish to work on it. Since the cancellation, Mr. Vasquez and the other crew have moved on to other projects.

An attempt to recreate Zim is being done by fans at the Invader ZIM Fan Animated SeriesTemplate:Fn. Fans have also raised an online petition for the relaunch of Invader Zim.

In an IGN interview, Vasquez has claimed that were he to get creative freedom on Zim, he may possibly continue it.

Vasquez has also mentioned that after Zim was finished he was approached by several animation production companies [some big names, he claimed] wishing for him to do a Zim like program. He's refused them all, not wanting to live life as a children's show producer, and wanted to go on to something else.

Invader Zim in other languages

• Japanese: Inbēdā Jimu(インベーダー・ジム)
• Korean: 침략자 Zim
• French: Envahisseur Zim
• Spanish: Invasor Zim
• Portuguese: Invasor Zim (same title as Spanish version)

Notes

• Template:FnbThe Invader ZIM Fan Animated Series web-site

External links

• Invader Zim at IMDb
• Invader ZIM at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• The Invader Zim DVD FAQ
• The Scary Monkey Show
• Invader ZIM entry at TV.com
• Room With A Moose
• Bad Bad Rubber Piggy
• Official Japanese Invader Zim site

References

• "Lychii", Post to 'Invader Zim in Japan', Bad Bad Rubber Piggy forum (July 2, 2005, 10:31 PM). Retrieved August 3 2005.