Invader Zim Creator Jhonen Vasquez Reveals His Favorite Part of Enter the Florpus

Invader Zim, the animated television series from Nickelodeon about a frankly troubled alien invader and his misadventures on the planet Earth, recently returned in the form of a movie/TV special on Netflix called Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus. And while there’s a ton of moments to love from the special, some of them stand out from others — even for creator Jhonen Vasquez.

ComicBook.com spoke with Vasquez prior to the film’s Netflix release about everything from how he felt about coming back to Zim to nostalgia to how the special even happened, and as one of the final questions we asked, we had to know what his favorite part of the movie was.

ComicBook.com: In the special, what is your favorite part?

Jhonen Vasquez: I don’t know if it’s my favorite part, but it’s the part that has stuck with me. I don’t quote my own stuff a lot. I get the impulse when I meet fans, or they talk to me online, and they just have to respond to everything with a Zim quote, or stuff from my comics. And I’m like, “Yes, I certainly wrote that. I recognize it.” But there’s a few things that just stick with me from the series, usually Bloaty, just some variation of, “I eat too many pizza.”

But I think the thing in the movie that I say a lot is … and it’s just a tiny moment, and it’s Zim coming into the house after doing something stupid, and he congratulates himself. He says, “Excellent work, me.” And he gestures to himself, to illustrate.

I love that moment, I don’t know why. It’s just part of my language now.

Do you just find yourself saying it about yourself, about things you’ve done?

I don’t know. It’s just so self-congratulatory and kind of sad at the same time, because no one is telling you this. You have to tell yourself this, you have to … It’s like, well, I think I did a good job, but he really believes it. He’s really into it.

Well, let me just say then; I have seen the special. Excellent work, you.

Oh, wow, thanks. It feels weird coming from someone else.

*****

What do you think of Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus? Have you watched the Netflix special already, or are you saving it for a special occasion? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things animation!

Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus is now available to stream on Netflix. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the title right here. Here is a brief excerpt of our official review:

“Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus should really set the parameters for all returning Nickelodeon shows going forward. It’s almost entirely self-contained, with little to no prior knowledge required, and manages to invoke what was amazing about the original show without kneeling at the altar of nostalgia. It’s just a new, good Zim story that happened to release on Netflix rather than Nickelodeon itself.”