Chris Browne is the cartoonist of the comic strip Hagar The Horrible.
Chris Browne was born in South Orange, New Jersey in 1952 and grew up in suburban Wilton, CT. The son of award-winning cartoonist Dik Browne, he assisted his father on the comic strips Hi and Lois and Hagar the Horrible. The strips are syndicated by King Features Syndicate, Inc., part of the Hearst Corporation.
Chris Browne contributed gags to Hagar from the start in 1972. With his father, Chris co-authored Hagar the Horrible Very Nearly Complete Viking Handbook (Workman Publishing, 1985). Dik Browne won many awards for Hagar, including the "Oscar" of cartooning, the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award.
Dik Browne passed away in 1989 and Chris continues to write and draw the comic strip.
Chris still draws the strip today and Hagar now appears in more than 1,800 newspapers around the world. It is translated into 13 languages and appears in 45 countries. The little red-bearded Viking has also appeared in advertisements for IBM, Mug Root Beer, Skol Ale and in the animated opening titles of Caroline in the City. Hagar has appeared in his own CBS television special and is a feature of the Universal theme park Islands Of Adventure: Toon Lagoon.
Chris has contributed cartoons to National Lampoon, Playboy, Esquire, Heavy Metal and The New Yorker.
From 2000 to 2004, Chris and Carroll Browne wrote the autobiographical comic strip Raising Duncan, which still appears on the internet at www.comics.com
The Brownes moved to Sioux Falls from Sarasota Florida in 2007.
They have two Chihuahuas, a Scottish Terrier and a terrier-Schnauzer mix. Carroll's mother, the inspiration for Hagar's mother-in-law in the strip, lives with them.
The Browne's daughter is an animal welfare advocate in New York City.
In addition to his work on Hagar, Chris is writing and illustrating children's books.
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Influences/Inspirations:
William Joyce, Chris Van Allsberg, Maurice Sendak, Robert Crumb, Jules Verne, Richard Adams, Lewis Carroll, Dik Browne, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Andrew Wyeth, Ben Shahn, Sister Corita Kent, William Goldman, Jules Feiffer, Japanese monster movies, Eastern Cottontail bunny rabbits, my wife, my chihuahuas, hot chocolate and a need to do good while paying the bills.
Favorite Writers and Artists:
William Joyce, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Chris Van Allsberg, Peter Max, Red Grooms, Kliban, R. Crumb, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, Fred Babb, Kazu, Claire Bretecher, Herge, Dr. Suess, Alexander Calder, Edward Gorey, Gahan Wilson, the 7 old men at Disney, Heinrich Kley, Toulous Lautrec... and Albrect Dürer. That cat could draw.
Current Projects:
I have several children's books in the works. One is Cera The Triceratops and another is the Twelve Labors of Harry. I have maybe a dozen more that are ready to show. I write and structure and dialogue every bit as carefully as I draw design and paint. I also have a graphic novel I am developing with is a lot of fun, sort of a science fiction answer to the Harry Potter series. It's called OMEN ANDERSON and you can peek at it here: http://www.chrisbrowne2.blogspot.com/
Interests:
I really want to do children's books in a big way; also graphic novels and humorous books. Like my hero William Joyce I would prefer to write and draw. But I am flexible, like the Indian Rubber Man. I've worked with some of the world's greatest editor/publishers: Doug Kenney, P. J. O'Rourke, Hugh Hefner, Michelle Urry, Byron Preiss, Harvey Kurtzman, Peter Workman. I am here to amuse and amaze. Just rub the lamp and set me free! I'll grant you three pitches!
Family:
My father and aunt were cartoonists. My brother is a cartoonist, painter and musician. My wife's first husband is a cartoonist. My daughter's husband is a cartoonist and stand up comedian. Most of our friends are cartoonists. Most of their friends and cartoonists. Thanksgiving is hell.
University Affiliations:
I attended the Philadelphia College of Art so briefly that the rumors of the dormitory being haunted are due to entirely to fleeting glimpses of myself.
Contact Information:
Ouiji boards are good but sometimes they go crazy, doing that loopy zoomy figure eight thing. Oh, you mean how to contact me? Oh. Probably my e-mail: chrisbrowne2@mac.com and alo check out my weblogs: http://thehistorylesson.blogspot.com/ and
http://www.chrisbrowne2.blogspot.com/
Charities/Causes:
Our biggest project was multiple fundraisers for the Joan and Dik Browne Fund in Sarasota Florida. We helped build a critical care tower there and ironically my own daughter was treated there when she needed heart surgery years later. My wife and I are also involved in a variety literacy groups, The Names Project, veteran's groups,animal welfare groups and I teach art to children in a Head Start program in my so-called free time.