Doom.Doom.Doom. Invader Zim on DVD Soon!!!

[fnordboy]

That is what I am feeling right now:

http://www.animeondvd.com/news/pr.php?pr_view=262

New York City (November 06, 2003) - AnimeWorks is ready to rain down
Zim's doom upon the heads of animation fans everywhere with its release of Jhonen Vasquez's Invader Zim. Anime fans have been screaming for this DVD release since Zim first aired on Nickelodeon in 2001 and now it's finally here. Coming Spring 2004 will be the first of three double disc sets and a limited edition boxed set which promises to send fans' blood racing through their veins like giant radioactive rubber pants. The pants command them! Invader Zim currently airs on Nicktoons, Nickelodeon's digital home for animated hits.

This has definitely been one of my most wanted DVD releases. I am so glad that it is finally happening!

[Nostradamus]

(Emphatic expletive) yeah!



Thanks for the scoop, Fnord. That's the best entertainment news I've heard in some time.

The universe is still doomed, though. Doomed, doomed, DOOMED...

[Nostradamus]

A Zim fansite has a page devoted to dvd info.

http://roomwithamoose.com/dvd.php

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Info from tvshowsondvd:

Things seem to be coming along nicely at Media Blasters with the Invader Zim DVD releases. It was just within the past couple of weeks that news came out about the May 11 street date for the first 2-Disc set, along with details about contents and extras.

2 more double-disc releases are planned follow, currently scheduled in roughly four-six week intervals. Afterward, as we reported in the past, a Box Set will be made available containing all 3 double-disc sets.

Now, thanks to the "Room With A Moose" website, we have more info about plans for that box set. According to fan correspondance and that website's interview with Media Blasters, there are several things revealed about box set strategies. Quoting various items from the Room With A Moose site:

• "A limited edition boxed set which promises to send fans' blood racing through their veins like giant radioactive rubber pants." - Media Blasters Press Release
  
  "The boxed set will be unique and we're trying to make it more than a printed box." - Frank Pannone, Production Coordinator, Media Blasters
  
  "The boxed set will be available after all the DVDs have been released as a direct pre-order only. It will be something very special. Less a box and more a piece of art. If you've seen some of Merideth's other boxes, you'll know what I mean." - Frank Pannone, Production Coordinator, Media Blasters (speaking about Merideth Mulroney, Chief Designer at Media Blasters, and in charge of the Invader Zim releases)
  
  "The Special box will be a pre-order deal offered at the time of the final release. This will be a limited run, say 5 to 7 thousand. It will either be Zim's house or a stuffed pig. I have already built a test the house (it's currently sitting at Nickelodeon) and the pig is based on a toy my friend made of GIR's little piggy (pictures will come soon). After that a more normal box set will probably happen. But that release is still undecided. Both boxes will come with a 4th disc of extras." - Merideth Mulroney, Chief Designer at Media Blasters
  
  "The Special box will only be through us..it will be too expense and large for retailers...The reason this box will be sold separately is because of its complexity. I love making special boxes...the last one I did was all wood with burned sides. The trick is getting a retailer to take an expensive item like this into a store. This could change and if retailers want it then the box will be in stores and sold lets say with either volume one or volume three inside. So it could change (I'll let you know if it does)." - Merideth Mulroney, Chief Designer at Media Blasters
  
  (Responding to question: "The boxes sound great. You mentioned a 'normal box'; would that be a non-limited release that still includes the final extra disc?") "Yeah.. A digipack thing (like transformers or futurama). The special box will cost more and only really appeals to collectors like us They rest can still get the extra disc but they don't want to pay for nor do they care about a big box." - Merideth Mulroney, Chief Designer at Media Blasters

Holy smokes, it sounds like they are going all-out to make this box set THE cool item to get! To sum it up, this will have all six DVDs full of episodes and supplements (3 releases with 2 DVDs each), plus an extra disc (they refer to it above as the 4th disc, but it's really the 7th) chock-full of bonus supplements that will differ from what is on the normal releases. Price is yet to be determined, and could be "expensive". The Limited Edition version of the box set will be available direct-order only, with quantities planned for 5,000-7,000 units for now (that could change). A more "normal" edition of the box set is planned for retail store release, probably using a "digipak" like those seen for season sets of The Transformers, The X-Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Friends, etc. It will still come with the extra "4th" (7th) disc, and will almost certainly cost less than the limited edition set.

To REALLY get you charged up over this, below you will see some pictures that were published about a week ago over at BadBadRubberPiggy.com, another site devoted to Invader Zim. They have several shots of the prototype "House" box set that Merideth Mulroney mentions (none yet of the "Pig" prototype, but we'll keep an eye out for those). We have two of them for you, plus a look at the promotional poster that is surely being sent to DVD Retailers to help spread the word. Stay tuned, and we'll update you with any more news we get about the DVD invasion!

[Nostradamus]

Thanks for the update, CG. Hmm, now I can't decide if I want the house or the piggy...

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Update from tvshowsondvd:

In our last Invader Zim news, I reported extensively about the limited edition box set that is being put together. As a summary, I had this to say:

Holy smokes, it sounds like they are going all-out to make this box set THE cool item to get! To sum it up, this will have all six DVDs full of episodes and supplements (3 releases with 2 DVDs each), plus an extra disc (they refer to it above as the 4th disc, but it's really the 7th) chock-full of bonus supplements that will differ from what is on the normal releases.

Immediately afterward, I received a note from "Rasputin" from the Room With A Moose website that I was probably in error about this, and that the 3 double-disc releases would NOT accompany the special box set...it would be just the box and the bonus disc. I had no reason to doubt Rasputin, but didn't want to post an update to this site's readers without getting that word directly from Media Blasters.

My apologies to each of you, because with all of the fantastic news stories that have come and gone during the past two weeks, making contact with Media Blasters simply got by me.

Therefore, I owe the Bad Bad Rubber Piggy website a debt of thanks for covering this precise issue here, when they spoke with Merideth Mulroney, the Media Blasters person who is the uber-Zim-chief. Merideth is in charge of the project in just about every way, and you can better believe every word spoken. Merideth has a lot to say about the special release, and we'll repeat it here. Along the way, you will see that Rasputin was right, and I was clearly wrong:

Q: Can you give an approximate date when we can expect to have the ability to pre-order from you?
A: O I don't really know.. I'm guess March or April.

Q: Will fans have the ability to order the box-set right away even though it's release won't happen until all three sets are out?
A: Not until the time comes closer... it's a ways off.

Q: Speaking of the box set, there seems to be some confusion within the fan community about what it will contain. Will the box set be a complete set of disks or just the box and the extra disk to put the assumable already purchased 3 double-disk sets in?
A: The hope is that each box will come with an extras disk contain the audio only episodes redone as animatics, more interviews (maybe commentary for the animatics.. I don't know), the soundtrack or at least a half soundtrack, and any scripts to unfinished episodes. It may contain a toy of sorts in the roof. Aside from the extras, the box will not come with the other DVDs in it (as you will have already bought them and would not need another set).

Q: "Limited Edition" being a relative term, will everyone who wants one expect to have access to one of the box sets? Will the number produced be based at all on pre-order numbers to assure supply for the demand?
A: I don't know yet... that number keeps changing. Stores are getting very interested in the release... so we may have to make more then expected.

Q: If the retail outlets are actually interested in a box-set now, I'd assume they'd want one with all the disks in it (since that's how it's usually done). Do you see two versions possibly being made, one for retail with *all* the disks, and one for direct order with just the extras for the fans who already own the first three releases?
A: No, the box will be sold with only the extras disk in it. Later on we may do a digipack release.

Q: What kind of toy is being talked about for the house box? The Voot? A squeeky pig?
A: Who knows...? I have many wild dreams of cool stuff to place in it. Only time will tell.

Our thanks to Merideth Mulroney for the information, to Media Blasters for letting Merideth bring us Invader Zim, to Bad Bad Rubber Piggy for the great interview (please check out the rest of it at their website; the above is just a selected portion), and to Rasputin of Room With A Moose for setting me straight. My apologies for the error.

[Nostradamus]

OK, it's definitely the house. The drunken commentary sounds promising.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

You can view the cover art here!

[Nostradamus]

My friends picked up the first volume the other day; hopefully I'll get to see it this weekend.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

From tvshowsondvd:

Ain't It Cool News has posted this anime round-up yesterday, which half-way down has a number of things to say about releases from MediaBlasters' "AnimeWorks" label. Here's the exciting news about Invader Zim:

Invader Zim - Volume 3: Horrible Holiday Cheer

Zim is an enthusiastic, well-meaning alien working hard for the betterment of the universe. Of course, this means trying to purge Earth of the human filth that infests its surface. His opponent is Dib, the young paranormal investigator who turns out to be the only person on the planet capable of seeing through Zim's painfully obvious disguise. In this, the final installment of Zim's adventures, the world's most cuddly Soul Stealer appears, waffles turn out to be pretty tasty, Zim falls in love with the mysterious Tak, GIR goes crazy, and the good children of earth are forced to live under a protective dome! Includes several episodes not aired as part of Invader Zim's original run, and the infamous Christmas episode.

2 Discs, 9 episodes, 225 minutes (volume 3 of 3) English/Spanish Dialogue with English Closed Captions

Exciting, isn't it? The release date isn't mentioned in there, but right now my sources tell me that it's looking like the late-November-to-early-December timeframe. Stay tuned, and we'll let you know for sure when the announcement is made.

Our thanks to David Thornton of QKTheater.com for e-mailing us the heads-up about this!

[grim4746]

I haven't seen this show myself but I knew there was a thread about it here and I'm fairly bored so here's what TvShowsOnDVD.com has posted.

A bit over a month ago we brought you the first mention of the third release for Invader Zim. At the time we knew that it would be "2 Discs, 9 episodes, 225 minutes (volume 3 of 3) English/Spanish Dialogue with English Closed Captions".

Now, thanks to reader Eric Blackstock, we have word that some retailers are starting to add Invader Zim - Volume 3: Horrible Holiday Cheer to their coming soon lists. The date they give is October 12th, which is a bit earlier than we expected it to be available. List price is said to be $24.98 for the two-disc set.

None of this has been confirmed by the maker, AnimeWorks, nor is it yet available for pre-order from any of the regular TVShowsOnDVD partners. But stay tuned, and we'll work to get official confirmation on all of this, plus some word on extras as well. Still, I'm confident enough in that date to pencil it in on my calendar...and I can't wait!

Link to this page:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=2004

All news for this show:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/shownews.cfm?ShowID=2382