Source Material #413 - Happy (2012, Image)

In this episode of Source Material, Jesse and Mark dive headfirst into the surreal, violent, and surprisingly heartfelt world of Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson’s Happy—a four-issue comic that combines noir grit, Christmas horror, and the unlikely guidance of a cheerful blue cartoon horse.What starts as a hitman’s bloody downward spiral becomes a darkly redemptive journey. Nick Sax is a drug-addicted ex-cop with zero interest in saving anyone—until “Happy,” an imaginary flying horse, begs him to save a kidnapped girl. What follows is a twisted Christmas tale full of mob hits, creepy Santas, and a surprising emotional core.Jesse and Mark unpack how Morrison’s tale walks a tightrope between extreme violence and emotional redemption, the creative collision of tones that somehow works, and why the comic’s commentary on morality hits harder than its potential jabs at Christmas commercialism. They also discuss the difference between Morrison’s cerebral weirdness and Garth Ennis-style cynicism, how this book ties into faith-based redemption arcs, and whether the blue horse could have been a little more fun.