Hey, it’s a new issue of Invader Zim! I’m not writing a longer intro.

Invader Zim #11 (Oni Press)

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In this adventure, Zim discovers that Dib is allergic to animal dander. To kill Dib once and for all, Zim constructs an artillery platform that launches pets from a cannon. The constant barrage of screaming animals will eventually cause Dib to have a fatal allergic reaction unless he can find a remedy. And quick!

This issue is written and drawn by Sarah Anderson (with colors by Katy Farina), and much like K.C. Green’s guest issue from a while back, it’s always fun to get some new blood on the title. Her art sticks to the Zim aesthetic really well but she adds her own personal flourishes to help it stand out. I love all the vacuous, empty expressions on the many animals regardless of the horrible things being done to them.

Anderson’s story is just the right type of ridiculous, following the Zim formula but in the best sort of way. The map these things usually follow proceeds with Zim discovering some mundane aspect of Earth life and then trying to exploit it for his own ends, but in the most unwieldy and absurd way possible. It’s a “Zim leap of logic” sort of thing. A competent assassin, upon finding out Dib’s allergy, might synthesize a concentrated poison and then dart him with it while he sleeps. Zim? He shoves cats and guinnea pigs into a tank and blasts them into Dib’s face at 100 miles an hour until he dies.

THAT’S what makes Invader Zim special!

So yeah, the plot follows a typical premise and the story’s pretty simple, but Anderson makes it funny with all her high energy layouts and some on-point dialogue. While I’m still anxiously awaiting another multi-parter, this has been one of the better one-shot stories in a while.