Image Comics Gets Happy!

Nick Sax isn't exactly a winner. He's been fired from the police force, turned on by his own employees in his murder-for-hire business, has a drinking problem and suffers from eczema. What more could writer Grant Morrison and artist Darick Robertson put him through? Readers will find out in September in Happy! from Image Comics.

"HAPPY! is a story I've wanted to write since hit-man Nick Sax and his 'partner' Happy the Horse appeared fully-formed in my head two years ago," said Morrison. In an interview at Newsarama, he described the impetus of its development: "I wanted to do a classic Christmas story – like A Christmas Carol or It's A Wonderful Life – but with all the junkies, killers and pedophiles which make our modern world so colorful!"

Robertson adds, "Happy had a complete transformation from the initial drawing to what he became and what he became is one of the most enjoyable things I've ever designed to draw," said Robertson. "I hope readers will have as much fun with this as I've been having.

Happy #1 will be in stores September 26. The four-issue miniseries will culminate with an issue released Christmas week. Full press release below.

NEW MORRISON & ROBERTSON SERIES WISHES YOU MANY HAPPY RETURNS HAPPY! debuts in September from Image Comics Berkeley, CA - July 20, 2012 — Nick Sax isn't what you'd call a "winner." The anti-hero of the new Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson comic mini-series HAPPY! has been fired from the police force, turned on by his own employees in his murder-for-hire business (well, what would you expect?), is constantly drunk, and is waging a hopeless battle against the agonies of eczema. Sax seems beyond redemption, but saviors often take strange forms, and, in his case, it's the form of a tiny blue, feathered pony named Happy. Oh, did we forget to mention that? Yes, besides being heavy with violence, profanity, and sex, HAPPY! is also a tribute to the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. "HAPPY! is a story I've wanted to write since hit-man Nick Sax and his 'partner' Happy the Horse appeared fully-formed in my head two years ago," said Morrison. In an interview at Newsarama, he described the impetus of its development: "I wanted to do a classic Christmas story – like A Christmas Carol or It's A Wonderful Life – but with all the junkies, killers and pedophiles which make our modern world so colorful!" In the same interview, artist Robertson talked a bit about the mysterious, eponymous Happy the Horse, about whom the two creators are being enticingly elusive. "Happy had a complete transformation from the initial drawing to what he became and what he became is one of the most enjoyable things I've ever designed to draw," said Robertson. "I hope readers will have as much fun with this as I've been having. HAPPY! is Morrison and Robertson's first Image Comics series. It was announced at this year's Image Expo in February, which celebrated the independent publisher's 20th anniversary. Recently, Morrison commented on the experience of working on a creator-owned project. "As much as I enjoy making monthly superhero books, there's something very exciting and inspiring about creating a complete, original story from whole cloth and I'm grateful to Image Comics for seeing the potential of this project and giving it a home," said Morrison. "After a banner year for creativity at the company, Darick and I hope we can round 2012 out on a high note with the most twisted Christmas crime story you'll ever read." HAPPY! #1 will be in stores on September 26 and is available now for pre-order. The four-issue miniseries will culminate with an issue released Christmas week. ABOUT IMAGE COMICS Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.