Sioux Falls Cartoonist Chris Browne Dies at 70
Longtime Sioux Falls resident, Chris Browne, the cartoonist behind Hagar The Horrible since 1989, died this week at the age of 70.
He had been battling a long illness before passing away February 5, one day after the 50th anniversary of the cartoon strips' first appearance.
The news broke via a post on social media from the National Cartoonists Society:
Hagar the Horrible was created by Chris' dad Dik Browne and first published February 4, 1973.
The strip appeared in roughly 1,900 newspapers in 56 countries.
Dik also was responsible for creating Hi and Lois and Beetle Bailey.
After Dik's passing in 1989 at the age of 71, Chris took over the Hagar the Horrible strip.
Chris was born May 16, 1952, in South Orange, New Jersey, and served as his father's assistant for years. After living in Connecticut and Florida, he relocated to Sioux Falls several years later with his wife Carroll following a visit to Augustana University's Viking Days celebration.
His work also appeared in National Lampoon and Playboy.
Chris created his own original strip, Raising Duncan, which ran in newspapers from 2000 to 2005.
Chris talked about his career in this 2010 interview: