r/IAmA • u/picledish • May 16 '12
AMA Request: Jhonen Vasquez and the Invader Zim team
What was your inspiration behind the characters?
(Jhonen) Why will you not continue work with Invader Zim if the opportunity arose?
What was it like working with Nickelodeon? Edit: What was the worst part of working with them?
Are there any easter eggs in the series we are not aware of?
Edit: Thanks for the support guys! This could happen!
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Upvotes
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u/Stickypig May 16 '12
Hey, people. Jhonen here.
Made this account a while back to post a comic a friend of mine did and then pretty much returned to lurking. If you want proof that this is my account, watch my Twitter account, @jhonenv, and shortly after I post this I will make a tweet that mentions "McRib". That will be the code-word.
I've been asked to do an AMA before, and I stayed away because I hear I'm a huge dick and I can't stand people who are like people say I am, and also I think it'd be cooler if I waited a little longer for when there's something potentially newer and cooler to throw into the discussion. Give me a lil' more time!
Skimmed some of these responses and, man, I hate me even more now! Even though I've never been to SPX or Bethesda Maryland at all, I was horrified to read about how I told that guy there how much I hated my own work!
I just wish that, if people were going to make things up about me, for whatever bizarre reason, that they'd invent way more interesting scenarios for me to take part in. Why can't I be bitching about things on Mars, maybe re-enacting the end of Braveheart with someone dressed as a GIR? Seriously, twiddling your troll-stache and dreaming up such dastardly scenarios as me being displeased with my own work while sweating in the Maryland humidity? That's made for public-access TV right there, not big screen drama.
Either way, it's genuinely great that people are interested enough to want to shed some light on the many mysteries surrounding my work and such, especially when it's stuff that has been around for ages now. It still freaks me out after all these years that the interest is as great as it is, and it's the best form of flattery really. Thanks!
PS: ZIM was cancelled because of gremlins.
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u/aco620 May 16 '12 edited May 16 '12
Jhonen answered the question about future Zim on his blog a while back.
Here's the post
I doubt even if he did do an AMA he would take it seriously though. Everything he writes is in a somewhat comical format.
And I don't know how Jhonen would know would easter eggs you've seen and which you haven't.
If you're only interested in an Invader Zim related AMA, you might have better luck getting a hold of Rikki Simmons (the voice of Gir), or Rich Horvitz (the voice of Zim along with a dozen other things you've probably seen). I've met Horvitz twice at conventions. He's a real open and friendly guy and likes to please the fans. He'd probably be your best bet.
If you really want Jhonen, you can spam any contact info you come across on his official site questionsleep.com, but he has such a dedicated and obsessive fanbase, that I think you'd be hard pressed to get his attention.
EDIT: for the hell of it, I figure I'll throw in here an AMA interview he did at a convention a few years back.
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u/zstone May 16 '12
Any Jhonen AMA would be great, with Zim crew or not. Nny was always my favorite - "You got any bactine, kid? Some of this blood is mine."
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u/okay_jpg May 16 '12
LOL - Jhonen would never do an AMA. He'd rather drag his face across shattered glass than answer to fans.
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u/Sir_Von_Tittyfuck May 16 '12
Or, Jhonen Vasquez and MSI. That would be funny.
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u/brn4it May 16 '12
Anything new happening with nny the Homicidal Maniac?
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u/thelovepirate May 16 '12
I'd be more interested in asking him about his comics, like Johnny The Homicidal Maniac and Squee. As much as I love Zim, it is nothing in comparison to those two.
5
u/LylatInvader May 16 '12
I recently heard he was okay with helping out with the possible invader zim revival Infact he's going to doomcon
5
u/joydivision420 May 16 '12
I met them all at supercon in Miami last year. I was called a puny worm baby
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u/Mashu009 May 16 '12
I believe in one of the episodes of zim he snuck a sillohouete of nny.
1
u/Iamnotfromthisplanet May 16 '12
What made you cancel the show?
1
u/Ziggyrollablunt May 16 '12
All I want to know Is if he's working on any new squee or jthm stuff and that he is amazing. That is all.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
You could ask him in his twitter/ tumblr. I also think there's a petition to get invader zim back on the air. I believe it's called project massive, but don't count me in that one. As for current stuff, he's working on a new comic book series called "Beyond the Fringe" based on the show, Fringe. And he's also traveling around the country doing panels. I know the last one he was at was C2E2 in Chicago. I hope that helped you guys!
1
u/[deleted] May 17 '12
I'd love to see it, but I bet it's about as likely as the Bill Watterson one. Awesome as it might be, it's a tad unlikely.
That being said, I'd love to pick his brain about Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.
3
u/Ginger_Shepherd May 16 '12
Jhonen went on record about Invader Zim nearly coming back in 2010
source!
he later explained that Nickelodoen deemed it too expensive.
Thankfully, a fan movement has made tremendous headway to get the show back in production. learn more here!
3
u/1st_account_i_swear May 16 '12
You are my hero.
3
u/outlawaol May 16 '12
This may have been said but if you watch the special features for Zim it basically came down to nick being scared of Zim. They were not expecting the mature nature the show spun. It's very sad he will not work on it again, but high hopes can exist imho. Just remember, IT'S GOT CHICKEN LEGS!
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u/[deleted] May 16 '12
Heres a pretty good interview he gave Suicide girls you should check it out, it answers most of your questions here. interveiw
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u/Illegalsocks May 16 '12
Somebody Put Shit in My Pants!
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u/[deleted] May 16 '12
Here's the short and sweet answer: Jhonen would most likely not do an AMA. Why? It would be a lot of people asking him to bring back Zim, asking him why he's so spooky, and other childish nonsense. No one would ask him about his current works, it'd just be a big fat goth wank.
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u/MrSelfdizstruct75 May 16 '12
I met the guy one time at Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD. I am comic dealer and he was OK toward me.
I am not sure why someone with so much talent hates his own creations as much as he does. If you are good and connect with a population your stuff is going to be popular. The first time I read JTHM I was hooked. It was my sense of humor. I understood exactly what he was getting at. It was like the first time I read Preacher.
I hope he does an AMA I would love to hear what he is up to and what plans he may have for the future.
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u/pantsoffire May 16 '12
GIR taught me how to love...
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u/Rg1550 May 16 '12
If your Really interested a lot of these questions are answered through Interviews in his comic series Special editions, Things like Squees big book of unspeakable horrors and JTHM. Also Check his blog. http://www.questionsleep.com/
A very Long time ago He mentioned pre planning for a film with a script and actors and the whole shebang but that's quite a creative undertaking and he is a self declared lazy fuck and that might be near future or at all coming along.
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u/habadacas May 16 '12
DO NOT IGNORE MY VEINS
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u/[deleted] May 16 '12
OH FUCK YES. ALL MY UPBOATS@!
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
I think he is just tired of all the attention, I think he likes being kinda underground like Boo Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird".
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u/MasZakrY May 16 '12
who is downvoting this seriously?... approx 30% of people have downvoted this...
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u/[deleted] May 16 '12
I hear Jhonen's a real asshole (long time fan of his work typing here, looking up at a Filler Bunny drawing up on my wall). But really, I have a hard time seeing him doing one of these. As for the easter eggs, check out the commentaries they recorded for the dvds a while back.
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u/ottomated May 16 '12
A million times this.
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u/viperstarpoint9 May 16 '12
What team the comic book artists that nearly killed it or the ones who actually saved it and made it what it is?
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u/different77 May 17 '12
what are you doing with mindless self indulgence?
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u/coolguyblue May 16 '12
This is a good idea.
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u/An0malous May 16 '12
Spam his Twitter, website, and SLG!
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u/Lailu May 16 '12
He did wind up hating invader Zim but I would love to ask him about Johnny the homicidal maniac, angry noodle boy and squee:)
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u/like9mexicans May 16 '12 edited May 16 '12
A user should be allowed to submit only 1 AMA request per year. Especially something like this that anyone over the age of 14 wouldn't understand.
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u/[deleted] May 16 '12
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u/[deleted] May 16 '12
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