Spotlight: Unico’s Halloween

I wanted to do something different for Halloween this year, and I had so many ideas. In the end, October was busy, and I couldn’t create the ideas I had in my head. I rarely have time to draw these days, and so the dream of creating a well-illustrated comic of any sort dissipated as the month went on. It’s my fault for not planning something months in advance, so instead of a comic, I wrote a short story. After I wrote the outline, I thought, “Wait, is this a fanfic? I don’t write fanfics!” So, call it what you will, it’s a story about Unico on Halloween.

You might have also noticed some art on this post as well, and that’s because I tried to create a little more flair. I think photos and illustrations can add a lot to blobs of text, so this is me trying to make it more interesting. Since I couldn’t draw the other comic idea, I went with a quick strip based on the Peanuts comics. Like many, I grew up reading Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock, and the others in the newspaper. The holiday specials were on every year, so I thought a comic with Linus and Unico would be fun.

I tried to emulate Charles M. Schulz’s style, but I wasn’t sure how he might have drawn Unico if he had to. The comic often shows the children, and I only remember a few animals besides Snoopy and Woodstock. I felt the comic needed to be in color as well, so I based it on a few I saw. Linus has such an odd head to draw, but overall, everything was fun. You can also click on the image above to read the comic better.

I knew I wanted to create a Unico and Chao/Chloe image, but I couldn’t help but get a little goofy. The sketches of Cherry and her brother had me smirking the entire time I drew them. What if Cherry went trick or treating in a costume that looked like her brother’s? Let’s draw that! Since Tolby and Char Aznable (Mobile Suit Gundam) share the same voice actor (Shūichi Ikeda), what if the blond magician dressed up like the other? Boom! I think I need to do more of these, but also color them.

Story time!

Below you’ll find the short story I wrote. It’s about West Wind leaving Unico on the night of Halloween in 1995. Why 1995? Well, it was a good year, and I loved the 90s. (Laughs.) It’s also written for younger fans, so the style is fairly easy to read. Check it out if you’re interested! I’ll upload the audio reading soon as well.

Unico’s Halloween

West Wind flew across the skies as the sun set. She needed to find a proper spot to leave Unico until morning and noticed a large forest nearby. Unico slept in her arms as she coasted toward the forest floor. There was a small clearing, riddled with pine needles and leaves, and she gently set him down. Though they journeyed through both space and time, West Wind felt a twinge of guilt leaving him. She glanced down at the sleeping unicorn once more before disappearing before nightfall.

After her departure, the tall trees swayed and bounced their branches. They seemed to come to life, and the eerie wind crept across the ground, brushing up against Unico as if to wake him. His eyes opened, and he glanced up, still groggy from the long trip. The sky was now dark, with massive clouds partially covering the moon. The trees made such a fuss, and the creaking echoed around Unico. He cautiously stood up, only to spot several eyes looking down on him from above. They were observing him, and Unico did not want to remain in that spot any longer.

He scampered off, wandering through the spooky forest until he spotted a clearing. Feeling relieved, he stepped toward the edge and peered out. From where he stood, he noticed several large buildings with lights. Perhaps he could find food and shelter there. As he took a step forward, he heard something coming from behind. A shadowy figure flew toward him, its eyes reflecting the moon’s light. Unico cried out and ran for his life. The creature’s wings flapped loudly from above, and Unico ducked when its large talons reached for him. Unico tumbled down a small hill and landed near one of the large buildings.

The creature did not follow, instead returning to the forest while hooting loudly. Unico was happy to feel safe until he turned around. Thick cobwebs clung to the nearby building, and a large spider observed him. Scattered across the grass were tombstones and bones, and pumpkins lighting a path. Unico was surprised and galloped away from the scary scene, only to be met with a new one. A large tree next to another building had a handful of spooky decorations hanging from the branches, and one of them started shaking and making noise. Unico sidestepped and ran across the road, hoping to find a hiding place.

He hid behind a small bush and looked around. There were people walking up and down the streets, gathered in groups and holding flashlights. They were walking with strange creatures holding bags and visiting all the buildings. Unico wasn’t sure what to make of it, but slowly stepped out from his hiding spot. He heard a few children giggling nearby, but when he dashed over, he only found monsters! A witch, a skeleton, and a pirate! Unico tripped and fell over, catching the children’s attention. Believing Unico to be a dog or cat, they went to look.

“What is that?” asked the witch.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t look like a dog to me!” said the skeleton.

“Should we take it with us? Maybe it’s a lost pet,” said the pirate.

The three children agreed, and the little witch picked Unico up and held him close. It was Halloween, and the children were on their way to a party hosted by Anthony, one of their classmates. They strolled along the sidewalk, thrilled to view all the decorated homes. It was a magical night full of ghosts, goblins, and best of all—CANDY!

They got to their classmate’s house, and music and scary sounds were coming from within. They rang the doorbell, and Anthony’s mom answered.

“Are you kids here for the party?” she asked.

The three cheered. “Yes, ma’am!”

“Well, come on in. There’s plenty of games and treats.”

They thanked the mom and stepped inside to find the entryway decorated from top to bottom. Orange and black crepe paper twisted along the ceiling, die-cut Halloween images taped along the walls, and much more. Several treats, like chips, pretzels, fruit, and veggies, surrounded a large punch bowl on a decorated table.

When Unico smelled the food, he looked around. There were still a lot of things around him he was afraid of, but then he saw one kid take his mask off. They weren’t monsters at all! The witch noticed Unico looking around and brought him to the food table.

“Are you hungry? Here’s a carrot,” she said and offered him a small piece.

Unico happily ate the vegetable and looked at the witch. “Thank you!”

She gasped. “You can talk?”

“Yes, I’m Unico!”

“Hi, Unico! I’m Tiffany.”

“Whoa, did that thing just talk?” asked Marcus, another boy from the party. “Is it like a Teddy Ruxpin or something?”

“No, it’s a real animal!” Tiffany replied. “He says his name is Unico.”

The children gathered around, wanting to know what this mystery creature was. Unico had everyone’s attention, but he wasn’t able to give them any answers.

“He kinda looks like a unicorn,” said Anthony.

Marcus jumped. “Yeah! That’s what he is!”

“But unicorns aren’t real, are they?” asked Ashley.

The children fell silent, not sure how to answer.

“I have some unicorn stickers!” said Elisabeth.

The children laughed, and everyone went back to having fun. They happily explained Halloween to Unico and why people decorated their homes for the holiday. While Unico didn’t fully understand, he knew the children were having fun, and this made him happy. They fed him lots of snacks, and he enjoyed the fruit punch. When the music ended, Anthony went over to the stereo and turned the cassette around and pressed play. The music started once more, and the kids danced in the living room. From Monster Mash to Purple People Eater, the songs were a hit.

Then, a door slammed shut down the hallway, and it startled everyone! Anthony looked around and couldn’t find his mom. Who could have shut the door? Everyone at the party was in the living room, so what happened? The children peeked down the hall, but it was too dark to see anything.

“Hey, stop the tape!” Anthony called out.

One kid dashed over and turned off the stereo. The children listened and could hear strange noises coming from one room down the hall. Some kids retreated to the party area, not wanting to investigate, while the others were determined to find out what it was. Since it was Anthony’s house, he led the way. Unico followed Anthony, and his horn glowed brightly to light the way. This helped the group of children not only see better but also comforted them.

“What if it’s Freddy Krueger?” Marcus joked.

Ashley shook her head. “Don’t say that! He scares me!”

When they stopped at the first door, they heard a clunking sound. Anthony paused, afraid to open the door. Unico jumped in front and stood on his back legs. Before he opened the door, he looked back at the kids.

“I’ll open the door. Are you all ready?”

The kids nodded their heads, obviously not ready at all. When Unico turned the knob, he pushed the door open, and they looked inside. It was Anthony’s older brother’s room, but he wasn’t home. Unico entered the room and looked around. He couldn’t find anything unusual, but was spooked when Marcus gasped loudly. The other kids became frantic, unsure of what Marcus saw.

“What? Did you see something?” Anthony asked, feeling his heart beating against his chest.

Marcus pointed into the room where the television was. “I didn’t know your brother had a PlayStation!”

“Marcus! You scared us half to death!” Anthony groaned. “I told you he bought that last week.”

“Oh, I forgot.” Marcus shrugged but noticed something behind Unico. “What’s that?”

Everyone looked over as a shadowy figure moved toward them, making an eerie noise as it breathed. The children froze, and the monster lunged forward at them. Unico and the others were too frightened to stay a moment longer, and ran back to the party hollering for their dear lives.

Back in the room, of course, out popped a blue devil with long hair. He laughed and laughed, shoved a fistful of candy into his mouth and shut the door, ready for his next victim.