Happy! is a four-issue creator-owned comic book limited series written by Grant Morrison, with art by Darick Robertson. It was published by Image Comics between September 2012 and February 2013. The story blends gritty crime noir with absurdist fantasy, following Nick Sax, a corrupt, drug-addicted ex-cop turned hitman who, after a near-death experience, begins seeing a small, blue, winged unicorn named Happy. Happy is the imaginary friend of a kidnapped child named Hailey, and he enlists Sax's reluctant help to rescue her.
The comic is notable for its extreme tonal shifts, juxtaposing graphic violence and bleak urban despair with the saccharine, relentlessly optimistic presence of Happy. Morrison described the work as an experiment in creating a story that feels like a Christmas movie but is filtered through the lens of hardboiled crime fiction and psychedelic imagery. Darick Robertson's art grounds the fantastical elements in a grimy, detailed reality, making the appearance of the cartoon unicorn all the more jarring and effective.
Happy! was well-received critically for its originality and dark humor, though its explicit content made it a challenging read for mainstream audiences. The series has been collected into a single trade paperback and remains a cult favorite among fans of Morrison's more unconventional, creator-owned projects.
