Happy!

Perpetually intoxicated former detective–turned-hitman Nick Sax has a bad assignment that culminates in his own shooting and lands him in intensive care, where he is heavily drugged. While there, he begins to hallucinate a small, blue, winged cartoon horse named Happy. The impossible creature is the imaginary friend of a little girl who is currently in the clutches of a deranged Santa-themed child-murderer, and he has appeared to Sax because the has-been cop is the child’s only hope, as her horrible demise nears. With sadistic mob torturers and numerous gunmen on his trail, a disinterested Sax just wants to elude his pursuers while the tiny figment of the captive child’s imagination will not give him a moment’s peace until he rides to the rescue. The script possesses more crossover appeal than fan-favorite Morrison’s cult classics like The Invisibles and Animal Man, and the art showcases the tightest work Robertson (The Boys) has yet produced. Resonating as an oddball, visceral thriller with a minor fantastical element, this also serves up a satisfying tale of redemption. (Apr.)