📺 HAPPY! (2017)
Based on comic
Happy! began as a four-issue comic book limited series created by legendary Scottish writer Grant Morrison and artist Darick Robertson, published by Image Comics from 2012 to 2013. The comic is a pitch-black crime story injected with a dose of saccharine fantasy: a disgraced, substance-abusing ex-cop turned hitman, Nick Sax, is dragged into a rescue mission by a tiny blue winged unicorn named Happy, who is the imaginary friend of a kidnapped little girl. The comic's jarring mix of extreme violence and cartoon whimsy made it a cult hit.
In 2017, Syfy adapted the graphic novel into a live-action television series, with Brian Taylor (of Neveldine/Taylor fame) directing most of the episodes. Christopher Meloni starred as Nick Sax, delivering a gloriously unhinged performance, while Patton Oswalt provided the voice of the animated Happy. The show leaned hard into the comic's absurdist, ultraviolent tone, expanding the four-issue story into an eight-episode first season that delved deeper into the criminal underworld and the mythology of imaginary friends.
The series was renewed for a second season, which premiered in 2019 and moved the action to Easter-themed mayhem, introducing new imaginary friends and even more surreal threats. Despite positive reviews and a dedicated fanbase, Syfy cancelled Happy! after two seasons. The show remains a standout example of how a faithful yet creatively expanded adaptation can capture the anarchic spirit of its source material, even if its uncompromising weirdness limited its mainstream appeal.
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.