Abort! Abort! Dib is too flappy! — Zim

Invader Zim Issue
Issue 41
Chronology
Previous:	Issue 40
Next:	Issue 42
Information
Publisher:	Oni Press
Publication date:	March 27, 2019
Creative
Story by:	Drew Rausch
Art by:	Drew Rausch
Color by:	Fred C. Stresing Aaron Daly

Official Summary

A very spooky one-shot written and illustrated by Drew Rausch (Edward Scissorhands, Eldritch!). Dib's feeling a little under the weather, but his bones are as healthy as ever! Maybe that's why his skeleton decides to leave his body for a night and go on a wacky adventure? This one's for all the fans who requested more skeletons. All two of you!^[1]

Release

Issue 41 was released on March 27, 2019.

Variations

Issue #41 has a total of 2 cover variations. 

1. Drew Rausch standard retail cover
2. Matthieu Cousin variant cover

Characters in Issue #41 (In Order of Appearance)

Synopsis

Dib participates in one of his father's experiments, to allow a person's emotions to be visible on the outside, to seemingly no result. The Professor tells Dib not to sleep for twelve hours just in case of any lingering side effects, but he soon falls asleep regardless.

Shortly afterwards, his skeleton separates itself from the rest of his body and begins walking around the house on its own, a fact that is overlooked or ignored by both the Professor and Gaz.

Meanwhile, Zim is completing work on his PAK, increasing the length of its appendages. The reason for this is that Dib has been ignoring Zim's plans lately, and Zim is insulted by this. As such, he intends to appear outside Dib's bedroom window (which was previously out of his reach) and scare him as he tries to sleep, in order to get his attention again. Having explained this to GIR, the two then set out for Dib's house.

Dib's skeleton wanders the streets, having a series of incidents. It encounters a paranormal store, scares a man who is trying to scare a girl with a skeleton mask, enters a Bloaty's Pizza Hog restaurant that specializes in dipping sticks (and has its bones apparently used in place of them when they run out) and wanders onto the filming site of a paranormal investigation show, which mistakes him for a restless spirit.

At the same time, Zim arrives at Dib's house and tries to scare him, only to be scared himself by the sight of Dib's boneless body flapping around. He tries to run away, but his newly extended PAK appendages won't retract, leaving him stuck in the air; he tries to order GIR to help, but GIR simply runs off instead.

The skeleton bumps into GIR and ends up losing both its arms to him. Seemingly depressed by everything that's happened to it, the skeleton returns to Dib's house and reenters his body. Dib wakes up and is confused by why his arms aren't working, blaming Zim for it. A frustrated Zim merely points out that he has his own problems.

Facts of Doom 

• Recap Kid is apparently traumatized after their dimension-hopping travels in the previous issue, as indicated by their insistence on pretending the whole thing never happened.
• Oddly, Dib's skeleton has a bone in the same shape as his hair scythe, which should indicate that he has a growth on his head in that shape under the hair. However, as shown in Issue 31 when Dib was shaved bald, that is not the case at all. Presumably, this is simply done for sake of comedy.
• Zim mentions that Dib's pillow is probably full of hypoallergenic feathers, calling back to Dib's dander allergies that were revealed in Issue 11.
• Gaz actually manages to say the word "crap" when talking to Dib's skeleton at the beginning of the issue. This makes the second issue that has mild swearing in it, the first being Issue 24.

References