Hägar the Horrible

Infobox Comic strip
title= Hägar the Horrible


caption= Hägar the Horrible
creator=Dik Browne
current=Chris Browne
status=Running
syndicate=King Features Syndicate
comictype=print
genre=Humor
first=February 4, 1973
last=

"Hägar the Horrible" (sometimes referred to as simply "Hagar") is the title and the name of the main character of a syndicated comic strip by Dik Browne (and later by Chris Browne), first seen in February 1973 and distributed to 1,900 newspapers in 58 countries, in 13 languages. The strip is loosely based on a caricature of medieval Norwegian life as presented in Henrik Ibsen's play "The Vikings at Helgeland".

Hägar the Viking warrior

Hägar is an overweight Viking warrior who regularly goes off to invade Europe. The humor of the comic strip comes from his interactions with his longship crew. His first mate, contrary to depictions of Vikings as big muscled warriors, is a short, naïve fellow named Lucky Eddie. When he is not on his voyages or in the tavern, Hagar is with his wife Helga, their son Hamlet, daughter Honi, Helga's pet duck Kvack, and his dog Snert.

For a brief time, the strip had its own brand of sponsored soda, which was unfortunately named "Hägar the Horrible Cola". It is generally recalled as one of the funnier flops of the marketing industry. [Hendon, Donald W.; "Classic Failures in Product Marketing: Marketing Principles Violations and How to Avoid Them"; ISBN 0844234583]

In the UK, Hägar the Horrible and other characters from the strip were used in the late 1980s to advertise the beer Skol Lager, produced in the UK by Danish brewers Carlsberg, on billboards and in a series of popular television commercials. The commercials were animated and were mainly in black and white, like the daily newspaper comic strip itself, although the actual beer always appeared in color. [http://youtube.com/watch?v=gK7n1Q-fDeA] [http://youtube.com/watch?v=c6z-daQea_4] [http://youtube.com/watch?v=BdSf5e-WfU4] [http://youtube.com/watch?v=JIbrnokd8bM] . From 1981 until the mid 1990s, a representation of Hägar served as the mascot for the Cleveland State University Vikings.

Since Dik Browne's retirement in 1988 (and subsequent death), his son Chris has continued the comic himself.

Running gags

* Hägar and Lucky Eddie shipwrecked on a tiny island. The two are seen on the island but never how they got there or how/when they are rescued.
* The tax collector and his assistant paying him a visit to collect taxes for the king.
* Hägar and Lucky Eddie stranded at the edge of a cliff with a horde of enemy warriors charging them.
* Hägar and Lucky Eddie strung up by their hands and legs to the wall of a dungeon.
* Hägar's mother-in-law paying a visit.
* Hägar's annual bath ritual.
* Hagar visiting Dr. Zook, a short man whose face is shrouded in a black hood, resembling a stereotypical druid.
* Hägar and his troops invading other countries. These raids are referred to by the characters as "business trips." The most recent was England. They usually fail miserably.

Names in other countries

*Argentina: "Olaf el vikingo"
*Belgium (Flanders): "Hagar de Verschrikkelijke" (Dutch for "Hagar the Horrible/Terrifying")
*Brazil: "Hagar, o Horrível" (Portuguese for "Hagar the Horrible")
*Colombia and Latin America: "Olafo el Amargado" (Spanish for "Olaf the Sour")
*Denmark: "Hagbard" (Danish for "Hägar")
*Estonia: "Hagar Hirmus" (Estonian for "Hagar the Dreadful")
*Finland: "Harald Hirmuinen" (Finnish for "Harald the Terrible")
*France: "Hägar Dünor le Viking" (French for "Hägar Dünor the Viking", "Dünor" being a pun for "of the north", La Gare du Nord being one of Paris' main train stations)
*Germany: "Hägar der Schreckliche" (German for "Hägar the Horrible/Terrifying")
*Croatia: "Hogar strašni" ("Hägar the horrible/terrifying")
*Iceland: "Hrólfur Hræðilegi" (Icelandic for "Hrólfur the Horrible/Terrifying")
*Italy: "Hagar l'Orribile" (Italian for "Hagar the Horrible")
*Mexico: "Olafo, el Amargado"
*Norway: "Hårek den hardbalne" (Norwegian for "Hårek the hardy")
*Paraguay: "Olaf, el Vikingo" (Spanish for "Olaf the Viking")
*Portugal "Hagar, o Horrível" (Portuguese for "Hagar the Horrible")
*Serbia: "Хогар Страшни" ("Hogar Strašni") (Serbian for "Hogar the Horrible/Terrifying")
*South Africa: "Hägar die Verskriklike" (Afrikaans for "Hagar the Horrible/Terrifying")
*Sweden: "Hagbard Handfaste" (Swedish for "Hagbard the strong-handed". Hagbard was a legendary Scandinavian warrior.)
*Slovenija "Hogar Grozni" (Slovenian for "Hagar the Horrible")

Books

:Note: In alphabetical, not chronological order
#"A Turn for the Worse" (Dik Browne's Hägar the Horrible) by Chris Browne
#"Animal Haus" (Hägar the Horrible, No 11) by Dik Browne
#"Dik Browne's Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - January 1993)
#"Dik Browne's Hägar the Horrible: Funny Bunnies" by Chris Browne
#"Dik Browne's Hägar the Horrible: Hägar the Huggable" by Chris Browne
#"Dik Browne's Hägar the Horrible: Plunder Blunder" by Chris Browne
#"Dik Browne's Hägar the Horrible: That Dreaded...Bed Head" by Chris Browne
#"Excuse Me" (Hägar the Horrible No. 16) by Dik Browne (Paperback - December 1984)
#"Feeling "Fortune"-Ate?" (Dik Browne's Hägar the Horrible) by Chris Browne
#"Gangway" (Hägar the Horrible) by Dik Browne (Mass Market Paperback - August 1989)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - February 1986)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - April 1986)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - May 1987)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - November 1987)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - April 1991)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - October 1991)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - November 1991)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - August 1992)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - February 1993)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - March 1993)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - April 1993)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - August 1993)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - November 1993)
#"Hägar the Horrible" (Paperback - July 1994)
#"Hägar the Horrible and the Golden Maiden" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible and the Golden Maiden: Volume III of the Best of Hägar the Horrible" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible Cartoons" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible Excuse Me!" (Paperback - August 1991)
#"Hägar the Horrible Norse Code" (Paperback - April 1992)
#"Hägar the Horrible on the Loose" (Paperback - January 1992)
#"Hägar the Horrible on the Rack" (Paperback - October 1992)
#"Hägar the Horrible Puzzles" by Dik Browne (Paperback - December 1984)
#"Hägar the Horrible Spring Cleaning" by Dik Browne (Paperback - March 1988)
#"Hägar the Horrible, No 2" (Paperback - January 1990)
#"Hägar the Horrible, No. 1" by Dik Brown (Paperback - April 1986)
#"Hägar the Horrible: A Piece of the Pie" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Again & Again" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: All the World Loves a Lover" O 8 by Dik Browne (Paperback - March 1998)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Another Fish Story" by Dik Browne, Chris Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Born Leader" by Dik Browne (Paperback - February 1986)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Brings 'Em Back Alive!" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Face-Stuffer's Anonymous" (Hägar the Horrible, No 9) by Dik Browne (Paperback - March 1998)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Hägar's Knight Out" by Dik Browne (Paperback - April 1986)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Happy Hour" by Dik Browne (Paperback - February 1987)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Have You Been Uptight Lately?" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Hear No Evil" (Do No Work) by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Helga's Revenge" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Hi Dear, Your Hair Looks Great" by Dik Browne (Mass Market Paperback - June 1988)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Horns of Plenty" by Dik Browne (Hardcover - January 1985)
#"Hägar the Horrible: I Dream of Genie?" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Look Sharp!" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Midnight Munchies" by Dik Browne, Mort Walker
#"Hägar the Horrible: Motley Crew" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: My Feet Are Drunk" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: My Feet Are Really Killing Me" by Dik Browne (Paperback - February 1983)
#"Hägar the Horrible: On the Rack" by Dik Browne (Paperback - February 1983)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Out on a Limb" by Dik Browne (Paperback - March 1998)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Pillage Idiot" No. 11 by Dik Browne (Paperback - March 1998)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Roman Holiday" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Room for One More" (Hägar Series, No 6) by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Sack Time" by Dik Browne (Paperback - October 1986)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Sacking Paris on a Budget" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Silly Sailing" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Smotherly Love" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Special Delivery" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Start the Invasion Without" Me by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Strapped for Cash" by Dik Browne (Paperback - May 1987)
#"Hägar the Horrible: The British Are Coming" by Dik Browne (Paperback - July 1986)
#"Hägar the Horrible: The Brutish Are Coming" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: The Nord Star" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: The Simple Life" by Dik Browne (Paperback - June 1987)
#"Hägar the Horrible: Things That Go Bump" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible: Vikings Are Fun" by Dik Browne (Mass Market Paperback - April 1989)
#"Hägar the Horrible: We're Doing Lunch" by Dik Browne
#"Hägar the Horrible's Very Nearly Complete Viking Handbook" by Dik Browne, Christopher Browne [Browne, Dik; "Hägar the Horrible's Very Nearly Complete Viking Handbook"; ISBN 0894809377]
#"Hägar: The Horrible Fish Fly" by Dik Browne (Mass Market Paperback - November 1991)
#"Handyman Special" (Hägar the Horrible) by Dik Browne
#"Happy Hour" (Hägar the Horrible Series, No 13) by Dik Browne (Paperback - September 1984)
#"Have You Been Uptight Lately" (Hägar the Horrible, No 17) by Dik Browne (Paperback - February 1986)
#"Hear No Evil" (Hägar the Horrible Series) by Dik Browne (Paperback - March 1998)
#"Midnight Munchies" (Hägar the Horrible Series, No 12) by D. Browne (Paperback - February 1982)
#"On the Loose" (Hägar the Horrible Series, No 3) by Dik Browne (Paperback - September 1983)
#"Roman Holiday" (Hägar the Horrible, No 20) by Dik Browne (Paperback - November 1986)
#"The Best of Hägar the Horrible" by Dik Browne, Brian Walker (Photographer)
#"The Horrible Tall Tales" (Hägar Series, No. 4) by Dirk Browne, Dik Browne (Paperback - March 1998)
#"The Simple Life" (Hägar the Horrible Series, No 17) by Dik Browne (Paperback - April 1984)
#"The Very Best of Hägar the Horrible" by Dik Browne
#"The Wit and Wisdom of Hägar the Horrible" by Dik. Browne

References

External links

* [http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/hagar/about.htm "Hägar" at King Features]
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/hagar.htm "Hägar" at Toonopedia]
* [http://www.hagardunor.net "Hägar website"]