The original idea for Hi and Lois sprang from the fertile mind of Mort Walker, one of comic history's most prolific cartoonists. In his popular Beetle Bailey strip, Walker created an episode in which his lazy Army private took a furlough from Camp Swampy to visit his sister, Lois. The character so intrigued him that he asked Dik Browne, whose work he admired, to collaborate with him in developing the characters in the Flagston family. The rest, as they say, is history.
This portrait of an ordinary suburban family provoked a strong emotional response from readers right from the beginning. With each new generation, readers have seen themselves reflected in Hi and Lois.
Since its first appearance in 1954, the feature has grown steadily in popularity through more than four decades. Today Hi and Lois appears in more than 1,100 newspapers around the world in 37 countries and is translated into 10 languages. It consistently rates high in newspaper comics polls.
Writers Brian and Greg Walker and artist Chance Browne are the brains behind the strip today. Mort's and Dik's sons not only inspired Hi and Lois, but they developed into talented cartoonists themselves growing up next to their fathers' drawing boards. They now have eight children among them who animate the new Hi and Lois.