The Unicorn Hoax helps people feel seen by sharing their real-life stories with the world.

The Unicorn Hoax is a webcomic series created by me, Mariko Abe (she/they). I am a cartoonist based in Orange County, California.

I started The Unicorn Hoax in 2022 to share my corporate horror stories, initially.

I used to work at a startup valued at over US$1 billion. These are often referred to as a "unicorn" because the mythical animal represents the rarity of these successful ventures. Despite its outward success, the startup was a hidden dumpster fire. Since Glassdoor deleted my review, I needed another way for the world to know how much they sucked.

But in early 2023, I no longer felt the anger that had fueled me forward in creating comics every week.

So, The Unicorn Hoax branched out to share all sorts of personal stories. Sometimes they’re from me, but other times they are from my lovely readers who have trusted me with them.