Meet Super Unicorn Princess! Mike Hartigan tells us more.
About Author
Meet Super Unicorn Princess, a girl with super powers who is keeping her town safe! Author and illustrator Mike Hartigan tells us more!
Mike is from New Zealand, where he lives with his wife, three kids and a ginger cat called Maverick! He has loved drawing ever since he was little, and has always wanted to create and share fun stories with exciting character for kids! And now he has! Dreams do come true kids, so follow yours!
When he is not drawing Mike enjoys playing with his kids, watching movies and gaming.
Interview
August 2025
Meet the newest, cutest superhero! Super Unicorn Princess, introduced by her creator, Mike Hartigan
With space slugs, ice-cream monsters and ancient mummies threatening her town, Super Unicorn Princess has her hands full! This young superhero has plenty to draw young readers as she saves the town in these three page-turning adventures.
Super Unicorn Princess creator Mike Hartigan tells ReadingZone about his new graphic novel series, and how his daughters helped inspire Super Unicorn Princess! Plus find a challenge for readers to create their own comic superhero!
Review: "A wonderful graphic novel; children will be waiting with bated breath for the next in the series!" Read an extract from Super Unicorn Princess
Mike Hartigan talks to ReadingZone about unicorns, superheroes and his secret superpower!
"I think a great superhero is someone people can look up to and want to aspire
to be like, even without superpowers."
1. Hello Mike, thank you for joining us on ReadingZone! Have you always been a fan of super heroes? What got you into writing and illustrating your own?
Ever since I can remember! It probably all started with Batman, but my favourites now would probably be Spider-Man, Captain America , Wonder Woman and the Powerpuff Girls. I was lucky to grow up through the 80s and 90s when we were really spoiled with the amount of amazing cartoons and comics we got!
I always loved drawing, so being a big fan of cartoons first, then comics, I think it was just a natural gravitation to that genre, although I also like to create non-super hero stories. Sometimes I think it's cool to see an average person go on epic adventures and see how they deal with problems without the help of powers!
2. Did any of your favourites help inspire your own superhero, Super Unicorn Princess (S.U.P.) Is she actually a princess, and why a unicorn?
I would say the biggest influences on Super Unicorn Princess are definitely cartoons, specifically the amazing shows Cartoon Network was putting out in the '90s, and especially the Powerpuff Girls! I love creating kid heroes, and having them be the ones having the big adventures, or saving the day.
I wanted to create a superhero my young daughters could relate to. The superhero world is still very male-dominated, with a few exceptions. So my idea was to take all the things my daughters loved (unicorns, princesses, sparkly stuff) and mash them all together!
I also wanted to dress her in clothes that most kids would have at home rather than a super suit. That's why she just has a t-shirt, purple tights and a tutu. So while she isn't actually a princess, Super Unicorn Princess, by virtue of being the hero of Horizon City, makes her royalty to the people who live there!
"I wanted to create a superhero my young daughters could relate to."
3. Why did you decide to write SUP into a graphic novel? What's the starting point for creating a graphic novel, and how did this one develop?
A graphic novel seemed like the natural fit for Super Unicorn Princess, because I wanted to make it feel as much like a cartoon as possible, which is partly why I wanted to break the book down into multiple stories instead of one long one.
The starting point was figuring out who exactly S.U.P. is and what she stands for, and to be able to convey that clearly throughout the book. Then which adventures she should have in her first book and the baddies she would face! After that, it's the fun part of writing and drawing it and figuring out the balance of action and humour!
4. What kinds of adventures does Super Unicorn Princess have in her first book?
She has a busy time in her first book, that's for sure! First she has to deal with some giant ice-cream monsters, then an ancient mummy is brought to life and wants to take over the city, and finally a space slug is turning the people of Horizon city into mini-slugs…and S.U.P. might have to find some unexpected help with that one!
5. What's the trick to making a great superhero character?
I like my heroes to be positive, good-hearted and always striving to do be the best they can be, rather than the brooding dark heroes we got for a long time. I think a great superhero is someone people (both in the fictional world of the book and the readers themselves) can look up to and want to aspire to be like, even without superpowers. That's obviously a big thing to pull off but, for me, if you can do that you've nailed it. Also a good villain helps!
"The starting point was figuring out who exactly S.U.P. is and what she stands for."
6. Every superhero needs a sidekick. Who helps out SUP in these adventures?
Super Unicorn Princess doesn't have a sidekick, but she certainly has friends! One of them is Toby, who is a kid that happens to also be a super smart inventor! He's not sure about becoming a superhero like S.U.P. but he's willing to help out when she needs it. She also has help from various people around the city Like Mr. Teak from the museum, Chief O'Copper from the police and more!
7. Superheroes need their villains, too. Does SUP have an arch nemesis? Can you tell us a little about the villain in these adventures?
Her arch nemesis is Leona Linus, she's a little older than S.U.P. and is determined to prove herself to be the most evil tween scientist in the city! Unfortunately for her her plans tend to get ruined by our hero saving the day.
Leona has a sidekick called robo-goon. He's a robot she created to help with her evil schemes, and he does, although he might not share Leona's enthusiasm for being a villain…
8. What else do you have planned? Can we expect to see more adventures starring Super Unicorn Princess?
There are definitely more S.U.P. adventures on the way! I am working on book two which will feature more heroic adventures, introduce a bunch of new baddies for S.U.P and lay the groundwork for bigger things to come!
9. If you were making a comic starring you as a superhero, what would you want your power to be and why?
That's a great question. I've always been partial to teleportation, how cool would it be to just think about a place and instantly be there! Invisibility would be a fun one to prank people with. But I think what I really need is super focus to keep my mind on my work!
10. You live in New Zealand - does the landscape help inspire your stories or settings? What do you enjoy doing in your downtime?
I am inspired by so many things when creating stories, and I have definitely taken inspiration from where I live for other characters. I hope to start bringing more into S.U.P as her adventures continue.
I wish I had more downtime, but when I do I'm usually hanging out with my family, playing videogames, watching movies and reading…and I'm always drawing…my creative brain doesn't really switch off (which is why super focus would be a good superpower for me). These are also the kinds of things that I draw inspiration and generate ideas from!
Creative Challenge from Mike Hartigan:
Create a superhero and a short comic strip featuring your character
First pick the superpower you would most want (maybe even more than one! SUP has several!) The character itself can be anything you want - it could be based on you, maybe its your pet or favourite animal, or an alien from Neptune! There are no rules when it comes to what your hero should be.
Incorporate your character's powers into their costume design . . . so if they have electrical powers maybe they would have lightning bolts on their costume! Or if they fly maybe they have a cape or wings.
Then your hero just needs a problem to solve (this can be easier if they have a villain, but it could be anything!) Such as rescuing a cat stuck in a tree, helping an old person to cross the street, stopping a bank robber or even fighting monsters!
Once you have your problem to solve or your bad guys to fight, let your hero do their job! If it's a villain it may be a biff! bam! pow! fight scene, or if it's a problem to solve it's showing the reader how they use their powers to resolve it! Remember a hero is someone who is always willing to help those in need - even if its hard!
Super Unicorn Princess: Volume 1
