Invader Zim may well be one of the great examples of Black
Humor at it’s finest.
The protagonist is a villain – not a sympathetic villain,
not a villain with a heartbreaking backstory, not a redeemable villain, not
even a villain who’s motives you can understand. Zim is a straight-up evil
alien intent on taking over the world because that’s his job (Well, technically
it’s not, but that’s another story…)
– and it’s a job he loves.
It’s setting is a universe that takes a super pessimistic
view of life, where Earth is largely populated by idiots and misery is the
status quo, held in check by what are realistically meaningless superficial
distractions.
It’s a series where the narrative really only works because
the average intelligence is below average. Even Zim himself is such a doofus of
a screwup that he’s caused more damage to his own species than he has to Earth.
And even the one guy who’s even aware of what Zim’s up to (in spite of the fact
that Zim is realistically not that well hidden) gets frustrated enough that he
questions why he even bothers sometimes.
And it works. Because while triumph makes for great
inspiration and drama, failure makes for terrific
comedy, and there’s nothing like laughing at the failings and shortcomings of
others, especially when those failures are a good thing. It helps that the whole thing is served up with
well-prepared writing that includes no shortage of ridiculous and bizarre humor
that spares no effort in going over the top without shame.
Comedy. It’s a funny thing.
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