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 and later on MTV. 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.

## Plot

The series centers on Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz), a member of the extraterrestrial Irken species and the Irken Empire from the planet Irk. The imperialistic empire's goal is universal conquest and has a social hierarchy 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 and Kevin McDonald.) Zim is an outcast; he is delusional, very short, overzealous, narcissistic, and megalomaniacal.

An absent-minded Zim nearly destroyed Irk and the Irkens during the empire's first invasion, Operation Impending Doom I. He was punished by exile to the Irken food court 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 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), 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. A delighted Zim quickly goes to work and sets up his base in a random suburb; 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 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), 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 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); 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 employer from Foodcourtia who attempts to recapture him.

### Conception and early development

Invader Zim creator Jhonen Vasquez said "There was no way I was gonna say 'no'. The fact that they took a chance on someone a lot of people wouldn't have given a kid's show to is one of the coolest things that ever happened to me in my life. - Jhonen Vasquez."

Prior to the creation of Invader Zim, Nickelodeon 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, when she came across a comic book called Johnny the Homicidal Maniac 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, 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, the works of Douglas Adams, 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, 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 had 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 for Invader Zim was pitched to Nickelodeon in 1999, which led to the series being green-lit. 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".

### 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 are varied.

During MTV's Revival of Invader Zim, it was revealed that Bloody GIR is actually GIR making a mess with a Ketchup bottle with red eyes and a body too and GIR is actually covered in Ketchup in the episode: Puppet Show Of Doom. While the Invader Zim series featured dark and sometimes gruesome humor, it didn't often delve into supernatural or horror elements like "Bloody GIR." The ketchup-covered body could lead to humorous situations as GIR leaves a trail of mess and chaos wherever he goes. So, it also highlights GIR's childlike and carefree personality, as he enjoys making a mess with ketchup for his own amusement.