A Legendary DC Comics Writer's Zany Action TV Series Is A Gem Waiting To Be Rediscovered

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Can you really count yourself a comic fan if you haven't read the work of Grant Morrison? Morrison, who's Scottish, was part of the "British Invasion," the late 1980s surge of U.K. comic writers and artists who began writing for, and revolutionizing, American comics. 

DC Comics, especially the mature Vertigo imprint, was where the British Invasion took root. Morrison has a few Marvel credits to their name; in particular, they wrote an acclaimed "New X-Men" run from 2001 to 2004, which later greatly influenced the acclaimed first season of cartoon "X-Men '97." But much more of Morrison's work has been at DC writing its pantheon of heroes.

Morrison and Frank Quitely's "All-Star Superman" has been heralded as the definitive statement on the Man of Steel. Morrison's sprawling seven-year run on "Batman" redefined the Dark Knight's mythos, killing then resurrecting Bruce Wayne while introducing Batman's son, Damian Wayne/Robin. While their DC work is often eccentric, rest assured their creator-owned work is even weirder!

Take "Happy!", a four-issue series by Morrison and artist Darick Robertson, published by Image Comics in 2012. Set during Christmas, "Happy!" stars Nick Sax, a former detective turned all around scoundrel. After a heart attack, he wakes up in a hospital where he now sees a small blue pegasus named Happy, encouraging him to rescue a kidnapped girl named Hailey.

Before Morrison's work was shaping James Gunn's DC Universe or "X-Men '97," "Happy!" was adapted into a television series. Developed by Morrison themselves, "Happy!" starred Christopher Meloni as Nick and Patton Oswalt as the voice of Happy. It ran for two seasons (and 18 episodes) on Syfy from 2017-2019, but now sits waiting to be rediscovered after cancellation.

If Grant Morrison's comics sometimes sound like the work of someone high as a kite, well, there's a good reason for that. Morrison has a history of using psychedelics; check out their book "Supergods" (half autobiography, half history of the superhero genre) for a recounting of their many long strange trips.

When Nick first sees Happy, he naturally thinks he's hallucinating, but not so. Happy is Hailey's imaginary friend, and he's urging Nick to save her because her captor — a killer in a Santa Claus costume — intends her to star in a snuff film. Why is the little horse calling on Nick, a drunken hitman who's given up on life? Well, that would be telling.

"Happy!" is basically a noir story; A former cop with a sketchy past is called upon to find a missing girl. It stands out by giving its grizzled detective an imaginary friend. In a 2012 interview with Complex, Morrison explained that "this image of the little blue horse" is the first part of the comic that came to them, inspired by the 1967 song "Pegasus the Flying Horse" by English rock band the Hollies. Morrison being Morrison didn't conceive a cutesy story for that horse, but decided to drop him into a story reminiscent of Abel Ferrara and Harvey Keitel's hard-R cop thriller "Bad Lieutenant."

"I loved the idea of something so childlike and fantastical, and something so relentlessly cheerful finding itself in the company of the absolute most awful cynic in the world," explained Morrison to Complex. Then, they realized the comic should be a Christmas story, in the vein of "It's A Wonderful Life" or "A Christmas Carol," because what better time is there for a cynic to rediscover some goodness in themselves?

You might recognize Darick Robertson's name as co-creator of the brutal superhero satire "The Boys," alongside writer Garth Ennis. The violent and vulgar "Happy!" feels like Grant Morrison doing Ennis. Nick is a repellent lout who makes Jesse Custer from "Preacher" and Billy Butcher from "The Boys" look good in comparison. The tonal dichotomy of "Happy!" is also similar to "The Boys," a comic that mixes colorful superheroes with utter depravity.

The "Happy!" comic is a self-contained story, only about 100 pages long. In a 2017 interview about the TV series with /Film, Morrison revealed this short run was due to Robertson's packed schedule:

"Darick only had space in his schedule to do four [issues]. So I'd always felt that there was more story to be told. I really particularly liked spending time with these characters. When this opportunity came up, it was a way to suddenly add a lot of those elements in again."

Considering the comic story "done and dusted," Morrison saw the TV series as a way to revisit "Happy!" on a much bigger canvas. The series was developed by Morrison, as an executive producer, and Brian Taylor (director of the "Crank" films, which Morrison loves), who ultimately directed nine of the series' 18 episodes. 

When "Happy!" returned for a second season, Morrison conceived an all-new story for Nick and Happy based around a different holiday: Easter. Unfortunately, the series' ratings dropped off during its sophomore season.Syfy canceled "Happy!" and it had no luck finding a new home at another network. While "Happy!" Season 3 is unlikely, the series — and original comic — could make for some fun Christmas programming if you've already seen all the classics.