'Hi & Lois'.
Chance Browne was an American newspaper comic artist, working through the family company Browne Creative Enterprises. As the eldest son of the legendary cartoonist Dik Browne, he assisted on the family gag-a-day comic 'Hi & Lois', from 1979 until his father's death in 1989. Between 1989 and 2024, Chance was the official artist of the 'Hi & Lois' comic. He was additionally active as a painter, freelance graphic designer and jazz and blues musician.
Early life and career
Robert David "Bob" Browne, nicknamed "Chance", was born in 1948 in New York City and raised in Wilton, Connecticut. He attended Park College in Missouri and The School of Visual Arts in New York City, focusing on painting. He later moved to Cambridge and then to Burlington, Vermont. Initially, he worked as a graphic illustrator, with a strong interest in blues music, mainly Delta blues singers and later also more rock-oriented blues musicians. In 1973, he co-founded the blues band The Twinkies. Browne additionally served as jingle writer, composer and studio player for an advertising agency. He was also art director and musician for the folk music label Philo Records. Even when he became more preoccupied with comics, Browne remained active in the music field.
Assistance of Dik Browne
In 1979, Browne joined his father in the production of the 'Hi and Lois' strip. The comic was created in 1954 by Dik Browne and Mort Walker as a spin-off to the military strip 'Beetle Bailey'. It centers on the life of the middle-class Flagston family in a suburban neighborhood. Mother Lois is Beetle Bailey's sister, and is married to Hi, with whom she has a teenage son Chip, the twins Dot and Ditto and baby girl Trixie. They also have a family dog, named Dawg.
'Hi and Lois' (2 February 2015).
In the early 1980s, Chance Browne became the primary artist of 'Hi & Lois' and, after his father's death in 1989, the official artist. Eventually, 'Hi and Lois' was continued by the sons of both the original creators, as Brian and Greg Walker succeeded their father Mort in writing the comic. In turn, Chance's brother Chris Browne took over his father's other comic, 'Hägar the Horrible'. Chance Browne also worked on episodes of 'Hägar the Horrible' when it was still drawn by his father. Selection of the newly written gags was a democratic affair in the Browne household, and each member had a vote. At the family enterprise Browne Creative Enterprises, Chance and his wife Debra later helped as editors for the 'Hägar' strip. For the artwork of 'Hi and Lois', Browne has received assistance from Madeline Brogan, Warren Sattler and Eric Reaves.
By 2016, King Features distributed 'Hi and Lois' to about 1,100 newspapers worldwide. As the syndicate puts on its website: "Whether it's busy parents juggling jobs and raising a family, a teen coping with his self-image, sibling rivalry among the youngsters, or a toddler learning about the world and her place in it, Hi and Lois has kept pace with mainstream life and found the gentle humor in familiar situations."
Death and legacy
In 2024, Chance Browne passed away at his home in Danbury, Connecticut, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 75 years old. By then, Eric Reaves was already signing the 'Hi and Lois' strip as its lead artist. Chance Browne's work received strong praise from fellow cartoonist Guy Gilchrist. Browne's daughters Rachel and Robin are active as musicians/singers. Rachel Browne is a singer/songwriter and musician for the band Field Mouse.
While alive, Chance Browne never received a comics award. On 15 August 2025, he and his late brother Chris Browne will posthumously receive the National Cartoonists Society Medal of Honor.
'Hi and Lois' (24 March 2014).