We are delighted to be joined by writer Samuel Sattin. Samuel is an Eisner Award-nominated writer whose books include Buzzing, Side Quest and The Silent End. He is also the co-author of A Kids Guide to Anime & Manga and The Essential Anime Guide: 50 Iconic Films, Standout Series, and Cult Masterpieces books. With the release of the Unico: Awakening Manga with Gurihiru tomorrow from Scholastic, we got to chat about Unico: Awakening with Samuel.
Hi Samuel, it is so wonderful to have you with us again.
How did Scholastic get involved with Unico: Awakening?
Unico: Awakening began with a Kickstarter we launched in 2022. Before that, we laid a lot of groundwork with Tezuka Productions in Japan, including pitching the project itself, getting Gurihiru on board, and putting together an amazing campaign with the help of some comics-industry heroes. After the Kickstarter was done, my amazing agent submitted the project to Scholastic for future publication. What happened next fulfilled my wildest dreams. Scholastic enables us to pursue the project as we envisioned–as a multiple volume series that reimagines Osamu Tezuka’s original Unico.
What can you tell us about Unico?
Unico is a story about a supercharged young Unicorn who, because of his ability to spread kindness and inspire human beings, draws the eye of a vengeful goddess: Venus. She basically tries to have Unico destroyed as a result, but one of her servants, the West Wind, takes pity on him. Instead of destroying Unico, the West Wind hides him through space and time, and wipes his memory. Unico makes and helps new friends wherever he goes. But when he does so, his powers awaken, so the West Wind has to find him, wipe his memory again, and hide him.
Unico was originally created in 1976 on a trip that Tezuka made to Los Angeles. Initially serialized in a magazine called Lyrica, Unico’s cuteness was accompanied by big ideas and even bigger emotions–both hallmarks of Tezuka’s work. Unico fights for bravery, hope, and love, while attempting to stave off his own loneliness. No matter what happens to him though, his spirit never breaks.
What can you tell us about Unico: Awakening?
Unico: Awakening is our reimagining of the original Unico manga by Osamu Tezuka. I work on it closely with Tezuka Productions, Gurihiru, and Scholastic. It’s a big project with a lot of moving parts, headlined by Gurihiru and myself. And this first book is only the beginning of a great adventure to come.
Unico: Awakening itself reimagines some of the stories in the original manga, while taking them in new directions. Much like the Unico films of the 1980s, Unico: Awakening introduces new heroes and villains, while expanding the role of characters that received less focus in the original stories. It’s important to me that this story honors the spirit of Tezuka’s original, even while creating something entirely new. It’s also important to me that this series appeals to kids, who are sorely lacking in quality manga for their age group.
From the Unico: Awakening graphic novel, do you have a favorite scene that Gurihiru illustrated?
That’s tough! I love so many scenes that Gurihiru illustrated. They’re extravagantly talented. But if I had to pick one scene from Unico: Awakening, it would probably be when the West Wind remembers her name. As she looks for a way to break Unico’s curse, the West Wind must journey to a realm filled with mountains of knowledge that threaten to absorb and destroy her. The only thing she can do to stave off that destruction is to remember her name… Gurihiru does such a great job of capturing the emotions of the scene, and showing what the Unico universe looks like at the same time. It’s very powerful.
Do you think your reinvention of Unico with Gurihiru captures the spirit of Osamu Tezuka’s version?
I hope so, yes. The most accurate barometer I have for that is Tezuka Productions. Without giving too much away, I can say with confidence that they think the new Unico very much captures the spirit of Osamu Tezuka-sensei’s work, even going so far as to say that Tezuka himself would be proud and enthused.
What can you tell us about Unico: Hunted?
Unico: Hunted puts Unico into an unfamiliar city that’s seemingly abandoned. But when he discovers that a monstrous artificial intelligence is keeping the city’s few remaining survivors under lock and key, he vows to help his new friends fight back. All while being hunted by an ancient god who is closing in on his tail.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
I sincerely thank you for reading this interview, and I really hope you pick up and enjoy Unico: Awakening. It’s a labor of love, and a labor about love, and if I can say so, I’m quite confident you’ll enjoy it.
We would like to say thank you to Samuel for chatting with us and wish him the best of luck with Unico: Awakening.
