Hagar The Horrible
About Hagar The Horrible
Hägar the Horrible broke all records when it was launched on Feb. 4, 1973, becoming the fastest growing comic strip ever.
The strip was created by Hi and Lois artist Dik Browne in his basement art studio/laundry room in Connecticut. The strip’s title was the family nickname for Dik Browne, and the characters were loosely based on Dik’s family and friends.
The little red-bearded Viking has appeared in advertisements for IBM, Mug Root Beer, Skol Ale and in the opening titles for the TV show “Caroline in the City,” which starred actress Lea Thompson as a successful female cartoonist. Hagar has appeared on his own CBS special and is featured in Universal’s Islands of Adventure: Toon Lagoon theme park.
The strip now appears in about 1,900 newspapers around the world. It appears in 56 countries and is translated into 12 languages and is now drawn by Dik’s son, Chris Browne.
Meet the Creators
Chris Browne
Chris Browne was born in South Orange, N.J., in 1952 and grew up in suburban Wilton, Conn. The son of award-winning cartoonist Dik Browne, he assisted his father on the comic strips Hi and Lois and Hagar the Horrible. He contributed gag writing to Hagar the Horrible from its inception in 1972. With his father, […]
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Dik Browne
Richard Arthur Browne was an American cartoonist best remembered as the creator of the newspaper gag comic Hägar the Horrible about a Viking chief, his crew, and his family. Browne is also known as the original illustrator of Hi and Lois, a family gag strip scripted by Mort Walker. Both became some of the world’s longest-running, […]
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Robert Chance Browne
Chance Browne, also known as Bob, attended The School of Visual Arts and Park College and distinguished himself as an illustrator, art director and musician before eventually going to work for his father. After Dik launched Hagar the Horrible in 1973, Chance stepped in to help with Hi and Lois and has been the primary […]
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Characters
Hagar
He may look like a fierce warrior, but once you get past the sword and shield, Hagar is a loving husband, a devoted father and family man, and a reluctant taxpayer. While he has a vora...
Hamlet
Hagar’s brilliant son, and a mystery to his father. Industrious, clean and studious, Hamlet would rather read than pillage, or make a daisy chain than take up chain mail. Introsp...
Helga
Helga is Hagar’s demanding wife. Dressed always in her horned helmet, she is a true Valkyrie, besting the beleaguered Hagar in battles on the home front. While Hagar may instill ...
Honi
Hagar and Helga’s beautiful daughter and an old maid of 16. Not overly bright, she is, nonetheless, enduringly sweet. Her metallic blouse would ward off most suitors, but her lov...
Kvack
Kvack, the family duck, who, as his name implies, speaks with an accent.
Lucky Eddie
He’s everything a Viking shouldn’t be: not too bright, but very gentle. Totally without chin or aggression, Lucky Eddie makes the perfect foil for Hagar. He may be the only...
Lute
A poet and troubadour who can neither rhyme nor sing. Fortunately, Honi is so much in love that she really can’t tell the difference.
Snert
Hagar’s dog, who’s as rumpled and harassed as his owner.