Hägar the Horrible is the title and the name of
the main character of a syndicated comic strip by
Dik Browne, first seen in February 1973 and
distributed to 1,900 newspapers in 58 countries,
in 13 languages.

Hägar is a Viking warrior who regularly goes off
to invade England. The humor of the comic strip
comes from his interactions with his longship crew
(whose first mate, contrary to depictions of
Vikings as big muscled warriors, is a short naïve
fellow named Lucky Eddie) and his family (his wife
Helga, his son Hamlet, his daughter Honi, his duck
Kvack, and his dog Snert).

For a brief time, the strip had its own brand of
sponsored soda, which was unfortunately named
"Hagar the Horrible Cola." It is generally
recalled as one of the funnier flops of the
marketing industry.

Since Dik's retirement in 1988, his son, Chris,
has continued the comic himself.

The strip is popular enough to warrant a book,
Hägar the Horrible's Viking Handbook, which
purports how to loot, where to loot, and how to be
a good Viking. It includes a list of the Top Ten
Most Sackable Cities (of 10th century Europe):
London, Paris, Venice, Madrid, Novgorod, Cologne,
Geneva, Dublin, and Byzantium.