Review by Woodrow Phoenix

Volume 22 collecting the daily newspaper Phoebe and Her Unicorn strips by Dana Simpson begins at a significant point in the life of Phoebe and this series: Phoebe is about to have her tenth birthday. She’s been nine for ten years and 21 books, relatively speaking, so this is something to celebrate. Her unicorn friend Marigold doesn’t remember when her own birthday is, so Phoebe offers to share hers, an offer that Marigold happily accepts. This means a joint birthday party that will include humans and mythical, magical creatures too. Will there be enough cake?

The rhythms of a daily strip mean a story sequence usually doesn’t last more than six days, enough for a week before going onto something new, but for once this episode lasts for thirty days as Simpson explores all the friendships and characters Phoebe and Marigold know, and then the interactions between them all on the day of the party. Readers who have been following this strip from the start will be delighted to see past guests such as Stella the Sphinx, Todd the candy and ice-cream dragon, and many unicorns including Marigold’s sister, Florence Unfortunate Nostrils; the most fabulous of all unicorns, Lord Splendid Humility; and Infernus, the Unicorn of Death (who is not nearly as intimidating as his title, preferring to be known as ‘Ferny’).

After this extra-long extended birthday sequence Galactic Unicorn continues the usual conversational, lightly jokey vein as the pair deal with Phoebe’s new interest in documentary film-making, and encounter a robot unicorn double of Marigold. The robot is programmed to possess many of the same qualities as its mythical counterpart, but there is one thing it doesn’t have: a robot best friend to match Marigold’s relationship with Phoebe. Luckily and humorously there is a small programmable robot in the house that fits the bill. It’s not the most flattering comparison for Phoebe.

Elsewhere, we meet Lord Splendid Humility’s mysterious brother, and the Unicorn Space Program is initiated in an unlikely and amusing way which is entirely congruent with everything readers know about Marigold’s personality. Galactic Unicorn is another solid entry in the series which continues in Unicorn Secrets.