Review: Invader Zim #45

Oh gosh, Eric Trueheart, you sincerely have captured my attention with the spastic, wonderful way that you write one of my favorite Jhonen Vasquez creations (that’s family friendly, of course.) There’s the slight sugar high type rush through text that makes me bubble with a happiness that I can’t quite articulate correctly but I’ll tell you, even if you aren’t a long time fan, you’ll find yourself laughing at some of the jokes on the first two pages themselves. I promise.

Like most young reader friendly but touched by adult humor titles, some of the jokes here are pretty dry. They’ll effortlessly sail over the heads of wide eyed, excitable readers but hit all the right marks with people outside of their tween/teens with darker souls like myself. Compared to the loveable, charming faces that Warren Wucinich draws (I’ll admit, there’s something about the slightly wall eyed hobo narrating this tale that really and truly makes me smile), it’s a sweet harmony that will charm both younger and older readers alike.

The colors by Fred C. Stresing are exactly what you think of when you think of the Cartoon itself; bright but still touched by darker tones that echo that slightly goth feel that you get from everything that is somehow associated with a Vasquez creation. The entire issue is like watching an episode of the cartoon explode onto the page. Everything works together to recreate things so seamlessly that you actually get lost reading the issue. A movie in your own mind, if you will.

Also, like most younger reader friendly titles, there’s an Aesopian sort of moral to the issue. While the first issue of Zim that I reviewed was more about the dangers of becoming too tethered to technology, this issue is more about love. Or, as Zim calls it, squintz. There’s an inherent danger when it comes to love, which Miss Bitters jokes about in a dismissive way when the children are getting ready to dispose of their babies, but truly sometimes in this culture; in this day and age, we often so easily rid ourselves of things that we love or have loved without a second thought. Bonds are easily broken for some. Maybe this is because we live in a society that allows instant self gratification, or maybe it’s also because we’re afraid to create deeper bonds.

On the other side of this, we also see that there are dangers to being too wildly obsessed with something; with falling head over heels to the point that we lose sanity and grip on your judgement and act out. I suppose it’s up to parents to really take the opportunity to explain both sides of everything. Either way, check out this sweet little 4 out of 5 Oni Press title if you’re into good laughs, good art, and a Free Willy homage or two.

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(W) Eric Trueheart (CA) Fred Stresing (A/CA) Warren Wucinich