InvaderCON

The InvaderCON 2011 logo.

InvaderCON is an Invader Zim fan convention run by Wasabi Anime (also known as "Green Mustard Entertainment"). To date 3 InvaderCONs have been held. The first in 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia, the second in 2012 in Los Angeles, California, and the third in Austin, Texas in 2014. InvaderCON, unlike some other projects done by Wasabi Anime (such as Florida Anime Experience), is not an annual show done in a city near where Wasabi Anime is located. InvaderCON's attendees at all three conventions were only about 20% locals. Over 80% of InvaderCON attendees came from outside the convention's host state. This made predicting attendance and budgeting for InvaderCON "very tricky and extremely risky" according to Wasabi Anime.

InvaderCON (2011)

The initial event was created to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Invader Zim and took place in Atlanta, Georgia on March 26–27, 2011. The initial event was created to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Invader Zim and took place in Atlanta, Georgia on March 26–27, 2011. (The convention's date was set exactly ten years, to the weekend, from when the show first premiered: March 30, 2001.) Special guests included cast members Richard Steven Horvitz, Melissa Fahn, Rosearik Rikki Simons, Andy Berman and writer Eric Trueheart. The convention had over a thousand in attendance and featured many Invader Zim-related panels and activities; including a panel where the voice cast read the scripts for the unfinished episodes "Mopiness of Doom" and "Day of da Spookies". One dollar of each ticket purchased for InvaderCON was donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The choice of charity was selected by Richard Horvitz, who was one of the first guests to be booked. In the end, InvaderCON raised almost $2,000 for JDRF. InvaderCON was not endorsed, sanctioned or in any other way supported, directly or indirectly, by Viacom International, Inc. or Nickelodeon. But it was confirmed that a few representatives of Nickelodeon attended to observe the turnout and were quoted as being "overwhelmed".

InvaderCON II: DOOMCON (2012)

InvaderCON was originally intended to be a one time event, but due to the success of the first InvaderCON and demand from fans, an encore presentation of the convention, InvaderCON II: DOOMCON, took place on July 28–29, 2012, in Los Angeles, California, featuring all of the previous year's guests (except for Andy Berman) with the addition of series creator Jhonen Vasquez, character designer Aaron Alexovich, voice of Professor Membrane Rodger Bumpass, post-production supervisor Jason Stiff, storyboard artist Ian Graham and a surprise appearance from voice of Almighty Tallest Red Wally Wingert. During this convention there was a panel where the voice cast read the script for the unfinished episode "The Trial".

According to InvaderCON's official website: "Since the first InvaderCON was on the East Coast (Atlanta) and due to travel requests on Jhonen's part, we opted to host InvaderCON II: DOOMCON in California. This was a MASSIVE undertaking on our part since our production team is based in Florida and Georgia. We made it happen, though. Over 1,000 fans from 42 different states and 7 countries showed up near Los Angeles for two days of Invader ZIM fandom goodness. The show was an expensive risk and a major stress on the Green Mustard Entertainment team – but it was worth it for us to see the fans and families that all appeared to share in the experience. Autographs, panels, breakfast, dinner, puppets, surprise guests, and more added up to a once in a lifetime weekend for the cast, crew, and attendees".

InvaderCON III: FINAL DOOM (2014)

With over 10,000 fans on Facebook asking for another InvaderCON, Wasabi Anime decided to do InvaderCON "one last time". The third InvaderCON was funded via Kickstarter on June 21 – July 21, 2013. The Kickstarter was a success and exceeded its initial goal of $33,333. Wasabi Anime said they wanted the third InvaderCON to be located "in the middle" of where the previous InvaderCONs were located. Thus, Austin, Texas was chosen as its location since it is approximately 1,000 miles from Atlanta (InvaderCON 2011) and 1,300 miles from Los Angeles (InvaderCON 2012.) InvaderCON III: FINAL DOOM took place on July 26–27, 2014 in Austin, Texas. Special guests included cast members Richard Steven Horvitz, Melissa Fahn, Rosearik Rikki Simons, Rodger Bumpass and writer Eric Trueheart. At this convention there was a panel where the voice cast read the script for the unfinished episode "Ten Minutes to Doom".

20th Anniversary Livestream

On March 30, 2021, InvaderCON hosted a Twitch livestream celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Invader Zim. It featured Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons, Rodger Bumpass, Melissa Fahn, Olivia d’Abo, Wally Wingert, Aaron Alexovich, Eric Trueheart and Kevin Manthei.

Future

Even though InvaderCON III: FINAL DOOM was originally intended to be the last InvaderCON, fans, as well as Wasabi Anime, continued to express interest in doing another InvaderCON. In the years following InvaderCON III: FINAL DOOM, the founder of Wasabi Anime, Tom Croom, repeatedly teased fans on Twitter with the possibilities of another InvaderCON on multiple different occasions. On August 16, 2019, Wasabi Anime launched a Kickstarter to test the waters for a potential fourth InvaderCON event. The Kickstarter reached its $2,500 goal in just four days. In February 2020, it was officially announced that there would be a fourth InvaderCON event which was originally scheduled to take place in Boston, Massachusetts on August 7–9, 2020, as part of Fan Expo Boston. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to August 6–8, 2021, along with Fan Expo Boston. The fourth InvaderCon event was later postponed again indefinitely. On November 13, 2021, Wasabi Anime revealed that they no longer have any plans for another InvaderCON event in the near future, but remain open to the possibilities of another convention.

Videos

"Mopiness of Doom" script reading -ZADR-

"Day of da Spookies" script reading

Invader Zim- The Trial

Invader Con 3- 10 Minutes to DOOM Script Reading Part 1

Invader Con 3- 10 Minutes to DOOM Script Reading Part 2

Invader Con 3- 10 Minutes to DOOM Script Reading Part 3

Invader Con 3- 10 Minutes to DOOM Script Reading Part 4

InvaderCON - Richard Horvitz 45 min Q&A part 1-2

Jhonen Vasquez Sitting at You - InvaderCon 2012

InvaderCON 3- Panel of Doom

Invader Con's I'm Making Waffles Breakfast - part 1!

InvaderCon - Costume Contest Part 1

Gallery

InvaderCON II: DOOMCON logo

InvaderCON III: FINAL DOOM info