Invader Zim

***Invader Zim*** is an American animated science fiction dark comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz), from the planet Irk, and his mission to conquer Earth and enslave the human race along with his malfunctioning robot servant GIR (Rosearik Rikki Simons). He is antagonized by Dib (Andy Berman), a young paranormal investigator who is determined to stop Zim from succeeding.

Nickelodeon contacted Jhonen Vasquez 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 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.

*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, an Emmy Award 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 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.

An ongoing monthly comic book series of the same name was released on July 8, 2015, as a continuation of the television series and published by Oni Press. A film based on the television and comic series, titled *Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus*, premiered on Netflix on August 16, 2019

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.

Plot

The series centers on Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz), a member of the imperialistic Irken race, an extraterrestrial species 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 (Wally Wingert and Kevin McDonald), 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 (Andy Berman), 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 (Melissa Fahn); Zim and Dib's demonic teacher Ms. Bitters (Lucille Bliss); and Dib and Gaz's famous, but neglectful father Professor Membrane (Rodger Bumpass). 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), the leader of a resistance group called The Resisty who wants to overthrow the Irken Empire; and Sizz-Lorr (Jim Wise), 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.