Invader Zim has become a cult favorite for animation fans since the story of the titular character first debuted on Nickelodeon in 2001. Created by Jhonen Vasquez, the animated series presented a story that many still have a tough time believing was “children’s programming.” Recently, we here at ComicBook.com had the chance to chat with Vasquez at this year’s DragonCon about the legacy of the series, its influence on modern animation, and one of the most disturbing characters to emerge from Zim’s Earth-based conquest. If you thought Five Nights at Freddy’s is scary, you might need a refresher on one of Nickelodeon’s most terrifying mascots.
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Vasquez went into hilarious detail in describing what made “Bloaty’s Pizza Hog” one of the most twisted characters he had come up with in Invader Zim, “Bloaty is really funny when you first see him, like ‘ha ha that’s funny.’ But when you stop and think about it, Bloaty’s horrifying. He’s literally crying in all of his commercials and like, that’s the best take they’ve done. If he’s crying in commercials, what’s the stuff that they didn’t decide to air? When he’s doing Bloaty’s voice, it’s the sound of someone crying hysterically, of a man breaking, and that was amazingly funny. Anyone in a funny animal suit that’s sad is the funniest g*d damn thing in the world.”
Bloaty’s Reign of Terror
“Bloaty’s Pizza Hog” was the title of one of the segments of Invader Zim’s tenth episode in its first season, presenting the terrifying creature that functioned as something akin to Chuck E. Cheese in the Nickelodeon universe. With Dib’s sister, Gaz, wanting nothing more than to both eat pizza and meet Bloaty, she made it one of her life missions to make sure she would be able to visit the establishment. Dib and Zim’s ever-growing war with one another nearly threatens Gaz seeing Bloaty in person, but the episode ends with her dream coming true and the Membrane family chowing down on the pizza.
The original Invader Zim series ended in 2006, but was given a feature-length film on Netflix to revisit the surreal world in Invader Zim: Enter The Florpus. Said streaming film arrived in 2019, bringing the franchise back for the first time in years. Vasquez has yet to reveal any plans to bring Invader Zim back to the forefront, though this hasn’t stopped the series from remaining a fan-favorite and continuing to sell plenty of merchandise despite being off the air for some time.
Of course, Vasquez fans know that Invader Zim was far from the most disturbing story the creator had made. Johnny the Homicidal Maniac was a comic book series that debuted in 1995, following the titular character who went on a bloody rampage that definitely would never be allowed on Nickelodeon. Hopefully, both stories will make a return in the future, though for now, Jhonen has no plans on bringing either back into the spotlight.
Want to see what the future holds for Zim? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com or hit us up in the comments.
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image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
