Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

The entertaining exploits

Vikings
Vikings
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Vikas Datta -


The Vikings, who were distinguished by a startling adjective after their name, may have long lost their specific identity in the modern world, with the only of these epithets surviving (and flourishing) into our times being “Bluetooth”.


But not all of them have vanished, with one of their fierce warriors, and his unlikely family and associates, continuing to regale newspaper readers around the world for over four decades now.


American comics may be full of action, usually of the superhero variety, but humour has been a long-running and successful staple of their cousin — the newspaper comic strip — for over a century now, with ‘Bringing Up Father’ about accidental millionaire Jiggs and his ambitious wife Maggie starting in 1913 (and lasting till 2000), and many others spanning all genres and eras. One utilising the Dark Ages Scandinavia to great effect was Hagar the Horrible, who made his debut this month in 1973.


Like many others of his ilk, Hagar was not only a subtle depiction of contemporary (suburban) existence and its problems in a different setting, but also drew from his creator’s life. Cartoonist Richard Arthur Allan ‘Dik’ Browne (August 11, 1917 - June 4, 1989) used the “Hagar the Terrible” nickname his sons used for him, only changing it to the more alliterative, present name when he began drawing the cartoon character (which resembled him too).


Known earlier for co-creating “Hi and Lois” with Mort “Beetle Bailey” Walker, Browne used a clear, editorial-style line drawing, with minimal foreground or background detail, shading or embellishes for the strip — attributed to his experience as an illustrator in the courtroom, and subsequently during World War II in a US Army Engineer unit where he had to produce technical diagrams, maps and other documents.


A rather slovenly, unkempt, lazy, overweight, red-bearded Viking in an unnamed Norwegian coastal village, Hagar (pronounced “Hay-Gar”) regularly raids England and sometimes France, but can be also glimpsed at home and his neighbourhood pub. While he may look likely a fierce barbarian, he has a soft side, is frequently clueless and naive, and in awe of his formidable wife, Helga, who often chides him on his unprepossessing habits.


Apart from Helga, whose appearance is inspired by that of a Wagnerian Valkyrie, Hagar’s family comprises Honi, their beautiful, sweet but also frequently over-dramatic teenaged daughter, clueless about “girlish” things and confused whether she should become a warrior or a housewife, and Hamlet, their intelligent, clean, obedient and studious young son, almost always seen reading a book and with no interest in becoming a Viking (he wants to be a dentist, much to be his father’s mortification). Then there is Hagar’s dog, Snert, who wears a miniature Viking helmet like everyone else in the household, barks with a Viking accent (“voof”) and understands everything his master tells him, but usually refuses to do what he’s told, and the family’s duck, Kvack, who is Helga’s friend and confidante, and usually spies on Hagar.


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