Much of the humor centers around Hägar's interactions with his longship crew, especially "Lucky Eddie" (when on voyages or during periodic sacking and looting raids).

Supporting characters include his overbearing, nagging and occasionally jealous wife, Helga; their brilliant and sensitive son, Hamlet; their pretty but domestically hopeless daughter, Honi; Helga's pet duck, Kvack; Hägar's loyal and clever dog, Snert, and other secondary, recurring characters.

Hägar the Horrible uses a clear, sparse editorial-style line drawing, with minimal foreground or background detail, shading or embellishment.

[8] Before Hägar, Browne was best known for co-creating the comic strip Hi and Lois with his partner, Beetle Bailey creator Mort Walker.

"[4] Hägar made his first animated appearance in a brief sketch paired with an interview with creator Dik Browne in the special The Fantastic Funnies broadcast on CBS May 15, 1980.

However, after seeing how unhappy his children have become, as well as other Vikings calling Honi and Hamlet weird, Hägar immediately takes charge and sets things right again, with Helga as his somewhat silent, but kind, supporter.

The special starred the voices of Peter Cullen as Hägar, Lainie Kazan as Helga, Lydia Cornell as Honi, Josh Rodine as Hamlet, Jeff Doucette as Lucky Eddie, Don Most as Lute and Frank Welker as Snert, the Narrator, and the Viking Academy's Principal.

Variety reported in 2003 that Abandon Pictures had acquired the film rights to the comic strip and planned a live-action theatrical feature based on the character.

[18] In late 2014, Chris Browne confirmed that a deal was made with Sony Pictures to produce a film based on the character.

[19] On November 10, 2020, it was announced a CGI animated series co-produced by King Features and The Jim Henson Company is currently in the works.