Dilbert is divisive today, but during its early run the strip established itself as a workplace satire with broad appeal. The syndicated newspaper comic strip was a forerunner of pop culture like Office Space and The Office, and perhaps even Severance to a degree. However, Dilbert’s reputation faded in recent years, as creator Scott Adams became a political lightning rod.
Adams passed away at age 68 this week, following a battle with cancer. The author and illustrator became controversial in the last years of his life, but for a time in the 1990s, he was a unifying voice in pop culture.
These comics show the series at its comedic best, and most relatable.
“Dogbert Is A Consultant”: Dilbert’s Smartest And Dumbest Characters Collide
Pointy-Haired Boss Misses The Point, As Per Usual
Dogbert is wildly out of place in the world of Dilbert, yet he’s paradoxically also Scott Adams’ greatest creation. He’s without a doubt the comic strip’s smartest character, and this sequence of panels gets a laugh by having him try to explain exactly how dumb everyone else is to Dilbert’s boss.
Coming into Dilbert’s office as a consultant, Dogbert unsuccessfully tries to make Pointy-Haired Boss understand that he and his employees are working with brains smaller than “beavers’“, while their “competitors” are considerably smarter. Predictably, PHB takes precisely the wrong lesson from this, suggesting less training for his staff as a response.
“I’m A Nineties Guy”: Dilbert Proves He’s Not Too Macho To Hug It Out
A Hilarious Miscommunication Makes The Office Awkward
In this full-color, super-sized Sunday strip, Dilbert makes an iconic office faux pas. He walks in on Pointy-Haired Boss telling another employee about a huge fish he caught, and in a cringe-worthy misinterpretation of social cues, Dilbert gives his boss a big bear hug. Then he gives his coworker one too.
Hilariously, Dilbert notes in his internal monologue that hugging in the workplace seems “strange,” but he shrugs it off, thinking “I’m a nineties guy.” Dilbert exits the final frame of the comic feeling proud of himself for overcoming “the uptight eighties,” while his boss and fellow subordinate are left shocked and confused.
“I Quit Drinking Coffee”: Dilbert’s Effort To Go Cold Turkey On Caffeine Gets Off To A Weak Start
Dogbert Drops Some Harsh Truth On His Owner
This strip gives strong Garfield vibes, as Dilbert and Dogbert have an exchange that could easily have happened between caffeine-loving Jon Arbuckle and his coffee-drinking tabby cat. Dilbert explains that he “quit drinking coffee,” but he shrugs off being “a little slow getting ready for work” as typical for a Monday morning.
“It’s Thursday,” Dogbert deadpans back. Anyone who has tried to cut their caffeine intake during a work week can relate to this punchline. It is jokes like this that helped Scott Adams’ Dilbert gain attention and come to prominence in the early 1990s at the onset of its run in publication.
“I Krazy-Glued Farm Animals To The Boss”: Wally Goes Overboard Trying To Get Fired
Spoilers, It Still Doesn’t Work
Dilbert’s signature dry humor didn’t stop it from straying into absurd territory from time to time. This strip is a sterling example. It continues the long-running bit in which Dilbert’s coworker Wally schemes to get fired in order to obtain “that severance package” he’s always coveting. Here, Wally goes to the extreme measure of “krazy-glu[ing] farm animals to the boss.”
“He still won’t deal with all the bureaucracy to fire me,” Wally bemoans, as the final panel shows PHB conducting a meeting with a chicken, pig, and cowl stuck to him. It feels like Dilbert’s attempt at an homage to The Far Side’s constant farm animal humor, but in practice it is a weird left turn for the cartoon to take.
“An Hour On The Many Uses Of Rectangles”: Dilbert Takes Wasting His Time In Stride
It’s Not Just What He Gets Paid To Do, It’s What He Was Born To Do
Dilbert was debatably an influence on Mike Judge’s early-to-mid ’90s Milton animated shorts, which later inspired the 1999 film Office Space. At least, the two similar satires of workplace culture originated around the same time, and featured similar characters. Except while Judge’s character was a simmering pot of repressed rage, Dilbert was almost Zen-like in his acceptance of his career fate.
This strip encapsulates the pointlessness of corporate existence that both Milton and Dilbert reacted to in different ways. Pointy-Haired Boss asks Dilbert to assemble a frivolous presentation catering to “the big boss’s” area of expertise, but there’s no real purpose behind it. It’s just busy work, but that is what Dilbert excels at.
“And They Say Money Can’t Buy Happiness”: Pointy-Haired Boss Gets The Last Laugh, But At What Cost?
The Prototypical Obtuse Jerk Boss Of The 1990s
“Dance for your check,” Pointy-Haired Boss shouts at Dilbert, laughing maniacally as he declares “mine is twice as big.” This portrait of corporate middle management as completely obtuse and lacking self-awareness about their relationship with their employees is exactly the type of humor that The Office would later perfect in the 2000s.
Pointy-Haired Boss is an obvious predecessor to Michael Scott. Where The Office elevated the trope of the idiotic boss is that it made Michael all-too-human, an increasingly lovable oaf. PHB never evolved, and was never lovable. He fulfilled the same satirical function during his entire existence as one of Dilbert’s most recognizable secondary characters.
“They’re So Cute When They Get Jumpy”: Pointy-Haired Boss Pulls The Meanest Prank On Dilbert
Testing The Limits Of Dilbert’s Loyalty…And Patience
Here is another classic Pointy-Haired Boss moment. He intentionally misleads Dilbert into thinking he’s being fired, just to yank his chain. “They’re so cute when they’re jumpy,” PHB thinks in the last frame, pleased with himself for having shocked and enraged his most loyal employee, all for a gag to amuse himself.
Dilbert often featured ongoing storylines, much like its predecessor Peanuts, and it’s worth noting that this comic came in the context of an arc in which Dilbert’s company was downsizing. The punchline works on its own, but it is also an escalation of the running joke Scott Adams was playing with at the time.
“One Of Those Bureaucracy Savants”: The New Hire In Dilbert’s Office Is Off To A Wild Start
Productivity Or Unhinged Energy?
“We think he’s one of those bureaucracy savants,” Dilbert tells Wally, regarding the office’s “new guy.” In the last panel, readers get a glimpse of this “extremely productive” employee, who is showed with his tongue wagging out of his mouth as he frantically signs documents and tosses them in the air.
The suggestion is that the new hire isn’t as “productive” as he appears, and that his peers, like Dilbert, can’t actually distinguish good work from fast work. It’s a great visual gag with strong satirical implications, exactly the kind of humor that made Dilbert a national sensation during the 1990s.
- Release Date
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1999 – 2000
- Network
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UPN
- Directors
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Perry Zombolas, Chris Dozois, Michael Goguen, Seth Kearsley, Linda Miller, Bob Hathcock, Craig R. Maras, Jennifer Graves, Joe Vaux, Mike Kim, Rick Del Carmen, Todd Frederiksen, Andi Thom, Declan Moran, Barry Vodos, Alfred Gimeno, Mike Kunkel
- Writers
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Ned Goldreyer, Stephen Sustarsic, David Adam Silverman, Ron Nelson, Mark Steen, Jeff Kahn, Joe Port
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Daniel Stern
Dilbert (voice)
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Larry Miller
Pointy-Haired Boss (voice)
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Gordon Hunt
Wally (voice)
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Chris Elliott
Dogbert (voice)
