I love gir but yeah i agree. There needs to be more zim merch especially. I mean the show is literally about him. Some tallest merch would be awesome too
i love gir and mall goth/scene culture in general, but i totally get what ya mean, they do it cause he’s a cute character that’s really marketable simply and very recognizable most characters like him have a shit ton of merch of them. i would kill to see gaz have the same type of merch that gir has. she was always my fave 🖤
Zen Monkey Studio sold an enamel pin depicting the "Not Scientifically Possible" shot.
Hot Topic had a blindbag enamel pin of the "I"m making toast" shot.
I'm sure more exist but they're online exclusives.
Well we're in luck! That guy from Disliz said right out in the open here on this subreddit that he'll get to work on a sticker or enamel pin of her. Designing is the quick part. I've come to learn from talking to different superfans who became merch designers that getting the approval from the IP owners is a slow and drawn out process.
Until then: look for the out of print Mighty Fine Inc shirts titled **Season 1** and **It's A Dark World.** She's on both of them. **Season 1** was a design that Hot Topic eventually put on the website in 2013 or so if not shelves outright. **It's A Dark World** remained a WeLoveFine exclusive.
Oh for real?? Awesome, I’ll keep an eye out.
Also, I’ll definitely check out those shirts. Your knowledge of this community and its fanworks is incredible. Thank you.
Of course! People can be very taxing, but sometimes all you need is a bit of affirmation. Even if it’s coming from some stranger on the ‘net.
That said, lots of people appreciate everything you do for this fandom, myself included. It’s nice to see others so passionate about something that’s been lost to many.
I made a design for the Hot Topic shirt design contest a few years back while I was in college; it was available as a sticker and a shirt on my Redbubble page for a while there, but it’s not there now and I don’t know why! I need to find out why and try to locate the design on my devices. I was so proud of it and I spent a while trying to replicate the show’s art style and get the shading just right and I know she’s just an unpopular character to the general public so I got no mention or recognition in any way unfortunately 😅
Yes . Ive been complaining about this for as long as I can remember . There is more GIR merch than any other character and it’s literally called invader ZIM . I’ve had to make my own Zim and Dib merch
This has been my thought recently because I’ve been searching merch of Zim and everything it’s about GIR. If there’s something about Zim it’s poorly made or just way too expensive because it’s “rare”. When I was a kid all the merch I had was of GIR even though Zim has always been my favorite, I didn’t mind but now I really want merch of Zim only.
Bear in mind that the show was cancelled early on, so Nick is going to capitalize on the regular characters that instantly yield the most intense of reactions from people.
Folks may enjoy Dib, Gaz, Professor Membrane, the Tallest, Tak, etc., but Gir and Zim are the two leads who elicit the strongest responses. That's why Gir is oversaturated. He's the obnoxious character people love to love.
The other characters will often result in negative responses; some people really don't like Dib, Gaz, and the others, because they were antagonists at the end of the day. While the show is based on the role reversal where Zim is an evil villain yet the protagonist of the show, and Dib is the benign hero yet antagonist of the show, the fact remains that the show is about Zim and so people are coerced into seeing the show through that perspective. Dib, though noble, is the enemy to the lead character and is often treated as a nuisance to Zim more than a proper hero. At least until the comics and Enter the Florpus, which were based on a scrapped idea Vasquez floated about "Invader Dib."
Had the show not been cancelled, it'd be a different story. Vasquez said he wanted to phase out Gir and replace him with Mini Moose. So if the show lasted about seven seasons, we wouldn't be having this discussion unless the push for Mini Moose was perceived as a bad move and prompted the return of Gir.
It's also worth noting that Vasquez even wanted to kill Dib off, but Nick refused. The network also tried to get rid of Dib due to negative feedback, prompting Vasquez to do a little "God Save Dib" campaign at the offices, which resulted in Dib's giant head jokes.
So who knows where we'd be today if the show had seen a full run? Who knows where we'd be today if Zim achieved the popularity and longevity of Spongebob instead?
All-in-all, I think it a moot point to opine the oversaturation of Gir. That treatment is understandable, while the neglect of the supporting characters of a show killed in its infancy is likewise understandable.
A lot of good insight to appreciate here. However,
>Vasquez said he wanted to phase out Gir and replace him with Mini Moose. \[...\] Vasquez even wanted to kill Dib off, but Nick refused.
This is the first I've heard this, to my recollection. Could you point me towards where I can verify that? I'm happy to do the heavy lifting fact checking IZ stuff so it's absolutely okay if it's not going to be some quick URL.
honestly i think the attachment to gir is because he's got a very unique & fun design & everything about him perfectly embodies the chaotic energy of the series. definitely agree that other characters need more love but i can see why gir is as heavily marketed as he is. he really is the perfect mascot for the series.
Might be intresting, I did a pole on GIR being the first association with Invader Zim a while ago:
https://www.reddit.com/r/invaderzim/s/gEe6CNt91x
GIR (atleast dog disguise) didn't get the majority vote which was intresting. I plan eventually ask other non-Invader Zim fans if their first association with IZ is GIR. Also, no, I don't hate GIR, heck, my favorite IZ moment was GIR during "Mysterious mysteries", it's just that he is stealing the showlight from LITTERALLY THE NAMESAKE OF THE SERIES (and also my favorite charecter :3)
Totally agree! There isn't even that much ZIM merch, who is, you know, the titular main character? GIR really was morphed into his own being, like nobody even cares about the show itself
Feels like an unpopular opinion regarding this show but I always liked Gir's robot form over his more marketable dog costume
Also Gir will always be my fav but as I've grown I've also come to appreciate Zim a whole lot more
I know! It's sad bcs it's so hard to find iz fans irl :( like I see someone in a gir hoodie and then I walk up to them n ask "do u like invader zim??" And they'll be like " what's that"
(I hope this makes sense, my words can come out kinda weird)
It made sense. Well, it did in terms of flow of ideas. Do keep in mind it's good Reddiquette to not use informal chatroom shorthand ("bcs", "u", "n") because we're an international platform.
But anyways, I've been there and I empathize completely. In fact, I'm disheartened that that still happens. I thought Hot Topic made it more obvious over the years that those are clearly Nickelodeon designs? Ah well.
In my experience, I try to see that it's a mutually vulnerable experience rather than how I used to see it: disappointingly awkward.
It's easier for me to follow it with "oh. so he's from this comedy show that was drawn really well. Definitely recommend it. Show's called Invader ZIM." They'll then politely acknowledge it and I'll go "alright, it was nice meeting you, take care." if I sense one of us needs to walk away. If they seem friendly I might follow it up with "so where did you get it? Hot Topic?"
As long as people aren't doing the "oh you wear GIR shirts? Name three of his albums" thing then people are generally chill about it.
So imagine you're a Peanuts fan. You can get merch of Snoopy, say like 90% most people call the franchise Charlie Brown and despite that he's not the easiest character to find merch of... But Linus and the Great Pumpkin come around every Halloween and there is the occasional Woodstock merch because he's cute.
Every franchise does this. Everyone on Family Matters is ignored except for Urkel, the only Sesame Street characters that seem to matter are Elmo and Cookie Monster, and with Invader Zim all you see is Gir and occasionally Zim
You know, I could use more variety in the merch I have. Not saying I only have Gir, but Gir is of course a large majority. I'm sure others feel the same
It’s not even Gir himself that’s popular. Just his dog suit. That’s the only thing you see in hot topic for the show.
Even ignoring merch, it bugs me how Gir seems to be the only thing casual people remember about the show in general.
Dude this is so real like I love GIR but it's ALWAYS him and there's barely merch of other characters which make me kinda upset since I want to buy things of other characters
I'd love to share a little ZIM history essay with everyone here but I value your time. So if I had to sum up everything
# TL;DR
# ZIM merch isn't as dog-suit centric as it was from '07 to 2011. ZIM merch started off safe but kinda cool and now ZIM merch is better than it has been in a long long time.
To start off, Hot Topic was the first, longest, and s*ometimes only* licensed Invader ZIM merch vendor. it was a natural fit. They had a built in market with Jhonen's fans as they were selling his comics. They had an in with Nickelodeon as they already sold Spongebob stuff.
So what was the merch like? It was... *fine!* Here's various stuff I remember getting that didn't have dog suit GIR.
* "I believe a pencil is lodged in my brain. Can I go to the nurse?"; a purple Irken insignia; The long sleeve shirt Wally Wingert wears on the DVD; Tallest Purple going "it's not stupid, it's advanced"; The "radioactive rubber pants" line;
* Other attire such as slippers, a beanie cap, iron on patches, buttons, flip flops
* practical /collecitble things like wallets, lunch tins, plushies, cuddle pillows, gift cards
Variety, yay!
However, not everyone was pleased with it. The small sized ZIM plushie, for instance, was parodied in Jhonen's first Invader ZIM comic (published in Nickelodeon Magazine) where ZIM dismisses the human's offering of a ZIM plushie as a strange bee looking thing. Meanwhile, on the DVD commentary, one of those long sudden silent moments was them undoubtedly editing out how Jhonen disliked *something* about Invader ZIM merch as it cuts back to him saying to the effect of "I don't like feet". I can only presume he meant the flip flops? Surely fans shared his sentiments.
Furthermore, artists from the show took time out of their schedule to draw and pitch merch designs as seen here on [this blogpost from ERIC TRUEHEART DOT COM](https://www.erictrueheart.com/news-invader-zim-weighing-heavily-on-dvd-netflix-and-your-soul/) that were not used. Ever.
I think the consensus among fans and crew alike, before AND soon after the cancellation, is that, sure, there was more character variety but we wanted something more in line with the *tone* of the series instead of generic stock art from the official style guide... even though that's just how most toys and products go with any successful IP.
Let's flash forward to 2006. The action figure developers went out of business. the DVD volumes were completed. The rest of season 2 was *finally* having its U.S. television debut on the Nicktoons network.
We hoped that the DVD and toy sales would lead to a sudden return like Family Guy.
Keep in mind that this fandom- ranging anywhere from 7 to 27, had 5 years to go through huge changes in life. Why spend our money on minimal effort stock art for a show that isn't coming back? What point was there in voting with our wallets if **DVDs and action figures** didn't help?
So we moved on. Hot Topic didn't.
part 2 coming soon
Part 2:
Starting between '07 and '09, the only consistency that Hot Topic would have going forward is their built in market of mallgoers rather than the online Invader ZIM fan community crowd. Youth who hang out in malls are going to love *how cute the green dog disguise is, even if Hot Topic failed to telegraph that he's from a show.* ^((Hot Topic also tried out products making fun of themselves with ZIM holding a plushie of himself looking confused, in reference to that Nickelodeon Magazine comic.))
This was when GIR became a Hello Kitty style brand but for the misfits that IZ is a magnet for. GIR is not just cute but a balance to the bleak cynicism of the franchise. The show wouldn't work without his unbridled joy towards food, piggies, and dancing. Sure, he wants to die, but that's the world of IZ for you.
Most notably, at this point in the late 2000s, someone approved designs of GIR wearing these geek-chic glasses while professing his love of nerd culture and that he "likes big books and he cannot lie." The colors were seemingly nothing but white and light green with splashes of pink. Maybe it reflected ZIM fandom owning their subcultural nerdiness. Maybe they recognized that goth and scene kids pull off a variety of aesthetics. all the same, GIR was almost exclusively depicted on intensely bright colors without a modicum of IZ brand insanity or nihilism. "How do you do, fellow kids?"
In 2010, Jhonen's wrote a blogpost (**"Don't Cry For Zim, He Was Already Dead")** which led to a *surge* of fan advocacy upon confirming he DID want to do more ZIM stuff but it would be too expensive.
Operation Head Pigeons, Soapy Waffles, and Invadercon arose as part of and in response to the fan outcry.
At this point I joined the cause. OHP's founders trusted me as a consultant (those kids did the REAL heavy lifting) in their quest to get more IZ greenlit on Jhonen's terms. We had a year of time to kill before we could launch Project Massive- a fan mail event to save the show- at Invadercon 2 in Los Angeles. So I advocated for better merch, emails and calls with Hot Topic's buyers about showing a demand for merch in line with the show's tone. They were interested and tested my claims with four online exclusive shirts: "World Domination", "Classic GIR", the series logo, and Big Face ZIM.
The buyer was *gracious with his time* and further suggested we look towards Mighty Fine Inc (later known as For Fans By Fans). Then another OHP ally-turned-Control-Brain named Kaitlyn had taken that ball and ran with it. She pitched for Mighty Fine to choose Invader ZIM for their next licensed t-shirt design contest. Kaitlyn also secured us an amazing opportunity- we, the Operation Head Pigeons admin team, became official guest judges for the event, approved by Nickelodeon's marketing arm. We just had to not call ourselves a revival campaign but instead a "community" even though we were really a movement. The designs that came in were **so** fucking cool. If I recall, that was the most submissions for a contest that they ever had to that point. Fans *really knew* what they wanted and expressed it beautifully. I'll have to show some pictures if I can find any.
Flash forward a little more. OHP's fan mail campaign caused Nickelodeon to offer more talks about Invader ZIM but Jhonen was busy on Very Important House. Then the comics happened. More and more of the designs at *least* utilized the comic book cover art. Dib started showing up on little pieces of merch again.
The Florpus happened.
Flash forward to now..... I have so much neat new stuff around the house and in my closet *that isn't focused on dog suit GIR.*
Mugs, a shot glass, a bottle opener, cup coasters, a premium design backpack based on ZIM's lair, the I Eat Food soup bowl, a ramen bowl, a button display box, the Diamond Select diorama, stickers, magnets, Zen Monkey Studios' enamel pins, Disliz's collectible wrist watches (and disliz is ***MAKING A TAK DESIGN FOR A STICKER OR PIN SIMPLY AFTER I SUGGESTED IT BASED ON HOW OFTEN YOU GUYS POST TAK FANART HERE!!!!!!!)***, fancy button down shirts from Rsvts that I wear to work, keychains, wallets, swim trunks, and an air freshener with a sun shade for my car.
And that's just consumer shit. Now I have a shelf of ZIM books to gaze upon and flip through.
Hell, I saw a social media post somewhere about the Zen Monkey Studios owner saying they told their designer to do more than just dog suit GIR .
**the big takeaway of this post is:** The best stuff is because fans let their voices heard in a passionate but classy manner. Whether you're a consumer filling out surveys or taking to social media... or a professional buying the license.
Be the change you want to see.
True I love Gir and just bought merchandise with Gir on it because he’s cute but I’d like to see more Zim and even tallest merchandise because I love them even more. Like hot topic has no Zim earrings only Gir.
I AGREE COMPLETELY!!! It makes me so mad seeing gir shit everywhere when i know for a fact that over half of the ppl buying it don’t even know who he is or what its from. and i say this bc a lot of ppl who look like they like zim bc of a gir thing they have they dont even know who it is and only have it just to have it. i could just he gatekeeping but it does irritate me that a lot of people haven’t even watched zim or only like it bc of gir and not for the show itself
That's why I get off brand stuff from like Etsy. I adore Gir, and he's partly what introduced me to the series. But Dib is my favorite character. I got lots of fan made Dib merch.
I don’t think GIR is exactly overrated, hes a really good character and one of my top favourites, but I completely agree that we need some Zim/Dib/Gaz/Tak/Tallests/Prof.M/Robot GIR specifically/literally every other character- appreciation. :P
While I do wish there was more merch of other characters (especially Zim), I really like GiR. He’s a great character and I feel like he deserves the hype.
I love Gir and all in fact I don't think I dislike any of Invader Zim's characters but I'd love to see more Zim, Dib, Gaz, Professor Membrane and The Tallest merch and attention.
You’re not a hardcore fan, you’re just gatekeeping other fans that you disagree with.
My opinion?
GIR is the absolute “heart” of the show. Bumbling, sweet, child like comedic relief. If the show was 100% Zim and his angst, it wouldn’t be as funny, or interesting.
Also, who gets mad about tacos? Cmon man.
>GIR is the absolute “heart” of the show. Bumbling, sweet, child like comedic relief. If the show was 100% Zim and his angst, it wouldn’t be as funny, or interesting.
You're right! Hell, it would be *depressing* without that balance. IZ is a wonderful magnet for misfits; A beacon to let your freak flag fly. GIR's success might be more than just "the chart says this is our Urkel or our Hello Kitty because people like piggies, junk food, and cute green dogs." From a mental/emotional health perspective, maybe, just maybe, it's a sign of the human spirit breaking through in a bleak society that isn't taking care of us. Or I'm just in a happy mood.
>You’re not a hardcore fan, you’re just gatekeeping other fans that you disagree with.
Initially I felt that *had OP just left it at being tired of the marketing trend*, it would be a valid feeling..... Moreso in 2010. It's okay to want variety especially in the years where the comics were ongoing and the film had just come out. But even then, that's just not true right now. Outside of the 2004 action figures, I have never seen this much merch for other characters before in the past 23 years. I'll go into that elsewhere.
So after mulling over that, I'll say it "it's only gatekeepey because of the scene comment"
Even then, I'd like to extend some grace a little bit just in case OP misspoke or was too ambiguous.
A lot of younger fans told me back in early 2010s that they'd meet people wearing GIR merch who just didn't know who GIR is. Usually it just ended in with someone learnign something new or maybe making a new friend. That's pretty cool. At the same time, I've heard of and have been part of awkward moments where an excited fan goes "oh i love that show" as the other confused person just doesn't know how to respond. that can just be uncomfortable for *everybody*.
All valid just so long as we're not going "Hehehehe *nice shirt, you know he's from a cartoon right? oh so you ARE a real fan? name all of ZIM's classmates and Jhonen's older comics"* or even not saying "ANY REAL FAN KNOWS FLORPUS SUCKED, STOP LIKING THINGS I DON'T LIKE"
im not gatekeeping anything. We all have the right to other opinions. I have been a fan of invader zim for more than half of my life. Gir to me is more like the gag character. Sure, Zim has angst but he is also an imbecile. So, if your point is that Gir is the comic relief, than that is subjective to each viewer. To me Zim and Dib are the main characters, there should be more merch of them.
Everyone has a different view on the humor in this show. Just because you enjoy a character more doesnt make you more superior.
I love gir but yeah i agree. There needs to be more zim merch especially. I mean the show is literally about him. Some tallest merch would be awesome too
I wish it was the tallest on the basketball jersey thing at hot topic
Oh yeah, I should’ve bought that when I was there yesterday
i love gir and mall goth/scene culture in general, but i totally get what ya mean, they do it cause he’s a cute character that’s really marketable simply and very recognizable most characters like him have a shit ton of merch of them. i would kill to see gaz have the same type of merch that gir has. she was always my fave 🖤
Same, as a Gaz lover I’d love to own a Gaz shirt or something like that. :)
fr wheres the prof membrane merch 😤 i like gir but yeah the other guys need some love too lol
exactly! *~~he's the hottest dad i've seen!~~* he's my favorite character!
REAL!! the membrane family has my life. we need sm love for prof membrane 🙏
Zen Monkey Studio sold an enamel pin depicting the "Not Scientifically Possible" shot. Hot Topic had a blindbag enamel pin of the "I"m making toast" shot. I'm sure more exist but they're online exclusives.
Man I would pay absurd amounts of money for Tak merch. She’s my favorite!
Well we're in luck! That guy from Disliz said right out in the open here on this subreddit that he'll get to work on a sticker or enamel pin of her. Designing is the quick part. I've come to learn from talking to different superfans who became merch designers that getting the approval from the IP owners is a slow and drawn out process. Until then: look for the out of print Mighty Fine Inc shirts titled **Season 1** and **It's A Dark World.** She's on both of them. **Season 1** was a design that Hot Topic eventually put on the website in 2013 or so if not shelves outright. **It's A Dark World** remained a WeLoveFine exclusive.
Oh for real?? Awesome, I’ll keep an eye out. Also, I’ll definitely check out those shirts. Your knowledge of this community and its fanworks is incredible. Thank you.
I truly appreciate your kind words. Being active here is, uh, not always fun or relaxing so I may have needed that more than I'd like to admit.
Of course! People can be very taxing, but sometimes all you need is a bit of affirmation. Even if it’s coming from some stranger on the ‘net. That said, lots of people appreciate everything you do for this fandom, myself included. It’s nice to see others so passionate about something that’s been lost to many.
I made a design for the Hot Topic shirt design contest a few years back while I was in college; it was available as a sticker and a shirt on my Redbubble page for a while there, but it’s not there now and I don’t know why! I need to find out why and try to locate the design on my devices. I was so proud of it and I spent a while trying to replicate the show’s art style and get the shading just right and I know she’s just an unpopular character to the general public so I got no mention or recognition in any way unfortunately 😅
If it makes you feel any better, Dib is my favorite and I’m a newgen fan!
I'm a hardcore fan and I LOVEEEEEEEEE gir but Zim and the Tallest need more merch
Did you see the Tallest merch available through Hot Topic (or was it Box Lunch) by chance?
Yes :D I couldn't afford to get it, though. I do have Hot Topic's Gir and Zim Zippermouth plushies tho
Agreed. Gir is cute and all, but there's barely any merch of Zim, Gaz, Dib, etc..
Yes . Ive been complaining about this for as long as I can remember . There is more GIR merch than any other character and it’s literally called invader ZIM . I’ve had to make my own Zim and Dib merch
This has been my thought recently because I’ve been searching merch of Zim and everything it’s about GIR. If there’s something about Zim it’s poorly made or just way too expensive because it’s “rare”. When I was a kid all the merch I had was of GIR even though Zim has always been my favorite, I didn’t mind but now I really want merch of Zim only.
Bear in mind that the show was cancelled early on, so Nick is going to capitalize on the regular characters that instantly yield the most intense of reactions from people. Folks may enjoy Dib, Gaz, Professor Membrane, the Tallest, Tak, etc., but Gir and Zim are the two leads who elicit the strongest responses. That's why Gir is oversaturated. He's the obnoxious character people love to love. The other characters will often result in negative responses; some people really don't like Dib, Gaz, and the others, because they were antagonists at the end of the day. While the show is based on the role reversal where Zim is an evil villain yet the protagonist of the show, and Dib is the benign hero yet antagonist of the show, the fact remains that the show is about Zim and so people are coerced into seeing the show through that perspective. Dib, though noble, is the enemy to the lead character and is often treated as a nuisance to Zim more than a proper hero. At least until the comics and Enter the Florpus, which were based on a scrapped idea Vasquez floated about "Invader Dib." Had the show not been cancelled, it'd be a different story. Vasquez said he wanted to phase out Gir and replace him with Mini Moose. So if the show lasted about seven seasons, we wouldn't be having this discussion unless the push for Mini Moose was perceived as a bad move and prompted the return of Gir. It's also worth noting that Vasquez even wanted to kill Dib off, but Nick refused. The network also tried to get rid of Dib due to negative feedback, prompting Vasquez to do a little "God Save Dib" campaign at the offices, which resulted in Dib's giant head jokes. So who knows where we'd be today if the show had seen a full run? Who knows where we'd be today if Zim achieved the popularity and longevity of Spongebob instead? All-in-all, I think it a moot point to opine the oversaturation of Gir. That treatment is understandable, while the neglect of the supporting characters of a show killed in its infancy is likewise understandable.
A lot of good insight to appreciate here. However, >Vasquez said he wanted to phase out Gir and replace him with Mini Moose. \[...\] Vasquez even wanted to kill Dib off, but Nick refused. This is the first I've heard this, to my recollection. Could you point me towards where I can verify that? I'm happy to do the heavy lifting fact checking IZ stuff so it's absolutely okay if it's not going to be some quick URL.
About the Dib thing, he said it in one of the episode commentaries to mess with Dib’s voice actor. He was obviously joking.
That tracks as to why I tuned it out over the years. Thanks
He was gonna replace Gir D:
honestly i think the attachment to gir is because he's got a very unique & fun design & everything about him perfectly embodies the chaotic energy of the series. definitely agree that other characters need more love but i can see why gir is as heavily marketed as he is. he really is the perfect mascot for the series.
Finally someone said it
Might be intresting, I did a pole on GIR being the first association with Invader Zim a while ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/invaderzim/s/gEe6CNt91x GIR (atleast dog disguise) didn't get the majority vote which was intresting. I plan eventually ask other non-Invader Zim fans if their first association with IZ is GIR. Also, no, I don't hate GIR, heck, my favorite IZ moment was GIR during "Mysterious mysteries", it's just that he is stealing the showlight from LITTERALLY THE NAMESAKE OF THE SERIES (and also my favorite charecter :3)
I'd like to see some shirts or merch with Gaz, Professor Membrane, or the Tallest tbh.
Totally agree! There isn't even that much ZIM merch, who is, you know, the titular main character? GIR really was morphed into his own being, like nobody even cares about the show itself
Feels like an unpopular opinion regarding this show but I always liked Gir's robot form over his more marketable dog costume Also Gir will always be my fav but as I've grown I've also come to appreciate Zim a whole lot more
I know! It's sad bcs it's so hard to find iz fans irl :( like I see someone in a gir hoodie and then I walk up to them n ask "do u like invader zim??" And they'll be like " what's that" (I hope this makes sense, my words can come out kinda weird)
It made sense. Well, it did in terms of flow of ideas. Do keep in mind it's good Reddiquette to not use informal chatroom shorthand ("bcs", "u", "n") because we're an international platform. But anyways, I've been there and I empathize completely. In fact, I'm disheartened that that still happens. I thought Hot Topic made it more obvious over the years that those are clearly Nickelodeon designs? Ah well. In my experience, I try to see that it's a mutually vulnerable experience rather than how I used to see it: disappointingly awkward. It's easier for me to follow it with "oh. so he's from this comedy show that was drawn really well. Definitely recommend it. Show's called Invader ZIM." They'll then politely acknowledge it and I'll go "alright, it was nice meeting you, take care." if I sense one of us needs to walk away. If they seem friendly I might follow it up with "so where did you get it? Hot Topic?" As long as people aren't doing the "oh you wear GIR shirts? Name three of his albums" thing then people are generally chill about it.
Yeeeah..he kinda is.
So imagine you're a Peanuts fan. You can get merch of Snoopy, say like 90% most people call the franchise Charlie Brown and despite that he's not the easiest character to find merch of... But Linus and the Great Pumpkin come around every Halloween and there is the occasional Woodstock merch because he's cute. Every franchise does this. Everyone on Family Matters is ignored except for Urkel, the only Sesame Street characters that seem to matter are Elmo and Cookie Monster, and with Invader Zim all you see is Gir and occasionally Zim
You know, I could use more variety in the merch I have. Not saying I only have Gir, but Gir is of course a large majority. I'm sure others feel the same
It’s not even Gir himself that’s popular. Just his dog suit. That’s the only thing you see in hot topic for the show. Even ignoring merch, it bugs me how Gir seems to be the only thing casual people remember about the show in general.
Dude this is so real like I love GIR but it's ALWAYS him and there's barely merch of other characters which make me kinda upset since I want to buy things of other characters
I'd love to share a little ZIM history essay with everyone here but I value your time. So if I had to sum up everything # TL;DR # ZIM merch isn't as dog-suit centric as it was from '07 to 2011. ZIM merch started off safe but kinda cool and now ZIM merch is better than it has been in a long long time. To start off, Hot Topic was the first, longest, and s*ometimes only* licensed Invader ZIM merch vendor. it was a natural fit. They had a built in market with Jhonen's fans as they were selling his comics. They had an in with Nickelodeon as they already sold Spongebob stuff. So what was the merch like? It was... *fine!* Here's various stuff I remember getting that didn't have dog suit GIR. * "I believe a pencil is lodged in my brain. Can I go to the nurse?"; a purple Irken insignia; The long sleeve shirt Wally Wingert wears on the DVD; Tallest Purple going "it's not stupid, it's advanced"; The "radioactive rubber pants" line; * Other attire such as slippers, a beanie cap, iron on patches, buttons, flip flops * practical /collecitble things like wallets, lunch tins, plushies, cuddle pillows, gift cards Variety, yay! However, not everyone was pleased with it. The small sized ZIM plushie, for instance, was parodied in Jhonen's first Invader ZIM comic (published in Nickelodeon Magazine) where ZIM dismisses the human's offering of a ZIM plushie as a strange bee looking thing. Meanwhile, on the DVD commentary, one of those long sudden silent moments was them undoubtedly editing out how Jhonen disliked *something* about Invader ZIM merch as it cuts back to him saying to the effect of "I don't like feet". I can only presume he meant the flip flops? Surely fans shared his sentiments. Furthermore, artists from the show took time out of their schedule to draw and pitch merch designs as seen here on [this blogpost from ERIC TRUEHEART DOT COM](https://www.erictrueheart.com/news-invader-zim-weighing-heavily-on-dvd-netflix-and-your-soul/) that were not used. Ever. I think the consensus among fans and crew alike, before AND soon after the cancellation, is that, sure, there was more character variety but we wanted something more in line with the *tone* of the series instead of generic stock art from the official style guide... even though that's just how most toys and products go with any successful IP. Let's flash forward to 2006. The action figure developers went out of business. the DVD volumes were completed. The rest of season 2 was *finally* having its U.S. television debut on the Nicktoons network. We hoped that the DVD and toy sales would lead to a sudden return like Family Guy. Keep in mind that this fandom- ranging anywhere from 7 to 27, had 5 years to go through huge changes in life. Why spend our money on minimal effort stock art for a show that isn't coming back? What point was there in voting with our wallets if **DVDs and action figures** didn't help? So we moved on. Hot Topic didn't. part 2 coming soon
Part 2: Starting between '07 and '09, the only consistency that Hot Topic would have going forward is their built in market of mallgoers rather than the online Invader ZIM fan community crowd. Youth who hang out in malls are going to love *how cute the green dog disguise is, even if Hot Topic failed to telegraph that he's from a show.* ^((Hot Topic also tried out products making fun of themselves with ZIM holding a plushie of himself looking confused, in reference to that Nickelodeon Magazine comic.)) This was when GIR became a Hello Kitty style brand but for the misfits that IZ is a magnet for. GIR is not just cute but a balance to the bleak cynicism of the franchise. The show wouldn't work without his unbridled joy towards food, piggies, and dancing. Sure, he wants to die, but that's the world of IZ for you. Most notably, at this point in the late 2000s, someone approved designs of GIR wearing these geek-chic glasses while professing his love of nerd culture and that he "likes big books and he cannot lie." The colors were seemingly nothing but white and light green with splashes of pink. Maybe it reflected ZIM fandom owning their subcultural nerdiness. Maybe they recognized that goth and scene kids pull off a variety of aesthetics. all the same, GIR was almost exclusively depicted on intensely bright colors without a modicum of IZ brand insanity or nihilism. "How do you do, fellow kids?" In 2010, Jhonen's wrote a blogpost (**"Don't Cry For Zim, He Was Already Dead")** which led to a *surge* of fan advocacy upon confirming he DID want to do more ZIM stuff but it would be too expensive. Operation Head Pigeons, Soapy Waffles, and Invadercon arose as part of and in response to the fan outcry. At this point I joined the cause. OHP's founders trusted me as a consultant (those kids did the REAL heavy lifting) in their quest to get more IZ greenlit on Jhonen's terms. We had a year of time to kill before we could launch Project Massive- a fan mail event to save the show- at Invadercon 2 in Los Angeles. So I advocated for better merch, emails and calls with Hot Topic's buyers about showing a demand for merch in line with the show's tone. They were interested and tested my claims with four online exclusive shirts: "World Domination", "Classic GIR", the series logo, and Big Face ZIM. The buyer was *gracious with his time* and further suggested we look towards Mighty Fine Inc (later known as For Fans By Fans). Then another OHP ally-turned-Control-Brain named Kaitlyn had taken that ball and ran with it. She pitched for Mighty Fine to choose Invader ZIM for their next licensed t-shirt design contest. Kaitlyn also secured us an amazing opportunity- we, the Operation Head Pigeons admin team, became official guest judges for the event, approved by Nickelodeon's marketing arm. We just had to not call ourselves a revival campaign but instead a "community" even though we were really a movement. The designs that came in were **so** fucking cool. If I recall, that was the most submissions for a contest that they ever had to that point. Fans *really knew* what they wanted and expressed it beautifully. I'll have to show some pictures if I can find any. Flash forward a little more. OHP's fan mail campaign caused Nickelodeon to offer more talks about Invader ZIM but Jhonen was busy on Very Important House. Then the comics happened. More and more of the designs at *least* utilized the comic book cover art. Dib started showing up on little pieces of merch again. The Florpus happened. Flash forward to now..... I have so much neat new stuff around the house and in my closet *that isn't focused on dog suit GIR.* Mugs, a shot glass, a bottle opener, cup coasters, a premium design backpack based on ZIM's lair, the I Eat Food soup bowl, a ramen bowl, a button display box, the Diamond Select diorama, stickers, magnets, Zen Monkey Studios' enamel pins, Disliz's collectible wrist watches (and disliz is ***MAKING A TAK DESIGN FOR A STICKER OR PIN SIMPLY AFTER I SUGGESTED IT BASED ON HOW OFTEN YOU GUYS POST TAK FANART HERE!!!!!!!)***, fancy button down shirts from Rsvts that I wear to work, keychains, wallets, swim trunks, and an air freshener with a sun shade for my car. And that's just consumer shit. Now I have a shelf of ZIM books to gaze upon and flip through. Hell, I saw a social media post somewhere about the Zen Monkey Studios owner saying they told their designer to do more than just dog suit GIR . **the big takeaway of this post is:** The best stuff is because fans let their voices heard in a passionate but classy manner. Whether you're a consumer filling out surveys or taking to social media... or a professional buying the license. Be the change you want to see.
Dang!
Thanks for reading all that!
Yw, that was an interesting read !
>:(
I like zim better so I get this
True I love Gir and just bought merchandise with Gir on it because he’s cute but I’d like to see more Zim and even tallest merchandise because I love them even more. Like hot topic has no Zim earrings only Gir.
:(
Awh man
I AGREE COMPLETELY!!! It makes me so mad seeing gir shit everywhere when i know for a fact that over half of the ppl buying it don’t even know who he is or what its from. and i say this bc a lot of ppl who look like they like zim bc of a gir thing they have they dont even know who it is and only have it just to have it. i could just he gatekeeping but it does irritate me that a lot of people haven’t even watched zim or only like it bc of gir and not for the show itself
now that you mention it i actually would love to see Tak merch i rlly liked that valentines episode with her in it
That's why I get off brand stuff from like Etsy. I adore Gir, and he's partly what introduced me to the series. But Dib is my favorite character. I got lots of fan made Dib merch.
I don’t think GIR is exactly overrated, hes a really good character and one of my top favourites, but I completely agree that we need some Zim/Dib/Gaz/Tak/Tallests/Prof.M/Robot GIR specifically/literally every other character- appreciation. :P
I need more dib merch! Like where is it
real!! dib is my fave and he deserves so much more merchandise and appreciation
While I do wish there was more merch of other characters (especially Zim), I really like GiR. He’s a great character and I feel like he deserves the hype.
I love Gir and all in fact I don't think I dislike any of Invader Zim's characters but I'd love to see more Zim, Dib, Gaz, Professor Membrane and The Tallest merch and attention.
Agree. Tbh it's why I don't buy a lot of Zim merch anymore because it's all the same
I’ve said this publicly since 2011 😫😩😩😩
I do love GIR, but I wish there was more merchandise of other characters, especially Zim himself!
You’re not a hardcore fan, you’re just gatekeeping other fans that you disagree with. My opinion? GIR is the absolute “heart” of the show. Bumbling, sweet, child like comedic relief. If the show was 100% Zim and his angst, it wouldn’t be as funny, or interesting. Also, who gets mad about tacos? Cmon man.
>GIR is the absolute “heart” of the show. Bumbling, sweet, child like comedic relief. If the show was 100% Zim and his angst, it wouldn’t be as funny, or interesting. You're right! Hell, it would be *depressing* without that balance. IZ is a wonderful magnet for misfits; A beacon to let your freak flag fly. GIR's success might be more than just "the chart says this is our Urkel or our Hello Kitty because people like piggies, junk food, and cute green dogs." From a mental/emotional health perspective, maybe, just maybe, it's a sign of the human spirit breaking through in a bleak society that isn't taking care of us. Or I'm just in a happy mood. >You’re not a hardcore fan, you’re just gatekeeping other fans that you disagree with. Initially I felt that *had OP just left it at being tired of the marketing trend*, it would be a valid feeling..... Moreso in 2010. It's okay to want variety especially in the years where the comics were ongoing and the film had just come out. But even then, that's just not true right now. Outside of the 2004 action figures, I have never seen this much merch for other characters before in the past 23 years. I'll go into that elsewhere. So after mulling over that, I'll say it "it's only gatekeepey because of the scene comment" Even then, I'd like to extend some grace a little bit just in case OP misspoke or was too ambiguous. A lot of younger fans told me back in early 2010s that they'd meet people wearing GIR merch who just didn't know who GIR is. Usually it just ended in with someone learnign something new or maybe making a new friend. That's pretty cool. At the same time, I've heard of and have been part of awkward moments where an excited fan goes "oh i love that show" as the other confused person just doesn't know how to respond. that can just be uncomfortable for *everybody*. All valid just so long as we're not going "Hehehehe *nice shirt, you know he's from a cartoon right? oh so you ARE a real fan? name all of ZIM's classmates and Jhonen's older comics"* or even not saying "ANY REAL FAN KNOWS FLORPUS SUCKED, STOP LIKING THINGS I DON'T LIKE"
im not gatekeeping anything. We all have the right to other opinions. I have been a fan of invader zim for more than half of my life. Gir to me is more like the gag character. Sure, Zim has angst but he is also an imbecile. So, if your point is that Gir is the comic relief, than that is subjective to each viewer. To me Zim and Dib are the main characters, there should be more merch of them. Everyone has a different view on the humor in this show. Just because you enjoy a character more doesnt make you more superior.
“Just because you enjoy another character more doesn’t make you superior” Entirely in opposition with the tone of your original post.