Written By: Eric Trueheart
Art By: Warren Wucinich
Published By: Oni Press
Whether you live in Hot Topic or live near a Hot Topic, rejoice as the latest Invader Zim issue continues to uphold a standard for cartoon-to-comic transitions. Issue #24 follows Zim’s tunnel vision pursuit of power as he visits a planet run by a black market/shopping mall in search for a hidden figure that pulls all the strings of finance in the galaxy. This issue doesn’t fully answer the questions asked in the opening, but the lead in to issue #25 isn’t a painful cliffhanger.
It is always fun to return to Zim, either the reruns I own on DVD or even old issues of the comics, because the style is distinct and full of personality. The sense of humor that yo-yos between dark and slapstick is perfect by my tastes, and when done well, it never overstays its welcome. Jhonen Vasquez’s understanding of how to maintain comedic pacing in comic book format is to be admired, and while he is not directly handling the art or writing for this series, it is still clear that his oversight helps lift these books to a cut above the competition.
This issue introduced some new characters, as well as a lot of new scenery as Zim explores this gigantic intergalactic shopping mall, and the colors and design really make each page fun to read over. Without being too bright or too bland, the color palette just fascinates me. It’s odd to be left thinking about a detail like that, but after reading this issue a couple times, I had to go back again and ignore the word bubbles, just to figure out why I was feeling my face pull back into a smile each time. I don’t often get to feel happy while reading a “comedy” genre comic book because often they try too hard and reliably miss the mark every time.
Invader Zim #24, like the rest in the series, doesn’t make the mistake of presenting itself as a storyboard that would be better treated with animation. It stands on its own with fun cutaway gags and goofy characters that are perfect for the comic book format the story was written for.
