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Dilbert #47
Dilbert Turns 30
To celebrate 30 years of Dilbert, this special collection includes new comics, an introduction from the author, and the most popular strips and storylines from the past 10 years.
Thirty years ago, Dilbert burst onto the funny pages with a bleak, sardonic depiction of the modern workplace.
In the time since Dilbert' s launch in newspapers in 1989, it has become the most popular strip about office humor in history, a hilarious tonic for bored and oppressed business professionals, and a reliable source of laughter for comics fans everywhere.
Dilbert Turns 30 celebrates Scott Adams's brilliant career with a new collection of comics and a personal introduction by the author. Also included is a bonus section featuring 50 of the most popular Dilbert comics form the past 10 years.
Thirty years ago, Dilbert burst onto the funny pages with a bleak, sardonic depiction of the modern workplace.
In the time since Dilbert' s launch in newspapers in 1989, it has become the most popular strip about office humor in history, a hilarious tonic for bored and oppressed business professionals, and a reliable source of laughter for comics fans everywhere.
Dilbert Turns 30 celebrates Scott Adams's brilliant career with a new collection of comics and a personal introduction by the author. Also included is a bonus section featuring 50 of the most popular Dilbert comics form the past 10 years.
160 pages, Paperback
Published October 22, 2019
About the author
Scott Adams
199 books1,323 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Scott Adams was a defining voice of the American white-collar experience who transitioned from a prominent cartoonist into a polarizing political commentator. After earning an MBA from UC Berkeley and spending years in management at Pacific Bell, Adams launched the comic strip Dilbert in 1989. The strip’s sharp satire of corporate bureaucracy and the "Dilbert Principle"—the idea that incompetent employees are promoted to management to minimize their damage—resonated globally, eventually appearing in 2,000 newspapers and winning the prestigious Reuben Award. Beyond the funny pages, Adams explored philosophy and persuasion in works like God's Debris and Win Bigly, the latter of which analyzed Donald Trump’s rhetorical strategies during the 2016 election. His career took a dramatic turn during the mid-2010s as he shifted focus to his daily "Real Coffee" livestream, where he combined his background in hypnosis and corporate strategy to comment on the "culture wars." This period of independent commentary culminated in 2023 when he reacted to a poll regarding racial tensions with a series of inflammatory remarks. Labeling Black Americans a "hate group" and advocating for racial segregation, Adams faced immediate and widespread repercussions; hundreds of newspapers dropped his strip, and his publisher canceled his upcoming projects. Undeterred, he moved his work to the subscription-based platform Locals, rebranding his comic as Dilbert Reborn. In his final years, he faced severe health challenges, including stage IV prostate cancer and vocal cord issues, yet he remained a prolific presence on social media. He eventually announced the end of his hand-drawn work due to focal dystonia but continued to direct the strip's vision. Adams’s legacy remains a complex study in the power of branding, the evolution of digital influence, and the volatile intersection of creative genius and political provocation in the modern era.
Scott Adams was a defining voice of the American white-collar experience who transitioned from a prominent cartoonist into a polarizing political commentator. After earning an MBA from UC Berkeley and spending years in management at Pacific Bell, Adams launched the comic strip Dilbert in 1989. The strip’s sharp satire of corporate bureaucracy and the "Dilbert Principle"—the idea that incompetent employees are promoted to management to minimize their damage—resonated globally, eventually appearing in 2,000 newspapers and winning the prestigious Reuben Award. Beyond the funny pages, Adams explored philosophy and persuasion in works like God's Debris and Win Bigly, the latter of which analyzed Donald Trump’s rhetorical strategies during the 2016 election. His career took a dramatic turn during the mid-2010s as he shifted focus to his daily "Real Coffee" livestream, where he combined his background in hypnosis and corporate strategy to comment on the "culture wars." This period of independent commentary culminated in 2023 when he reacted to a poll regarding racial tensions with a series of inflammatory remarks. Labeling Black Americans a "hate group" and advocating for racial segregation, Adams faced immediate and widespread repercussions; hundreds of newspapers dropped his strip, and his publisher canceled his upcoming projects. Undeterred, he moved his work to the subscription-based platform Locals, rebranding his comic as Dilbert Reborn. In his final years, he faced severe health challenges, including stage IV prostate cancer and vocal cord issues, yet he remained a prolific presence on social media. He eventually announced the end of his hand-drawn work due to focal dystonia but continued to direct the strip's vision. Adams’s legacy remains a complex study in the power of branding, the evolution of digital influence, and the volatile intersection of creative genius and political provocation in the modern era.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 14, 2020
It was an interesting and light read and a good round up on good Dilbert comic strips from last 30 years. It seems to be a selection though, not everything that is ever published. The related comic strips are put together and the sequencing is good to understand all the characters.
I had bought this thinking of using the comics in various presentations and meetings, but definitely i can't use it for that purpose as it is too satirical for my context and will pi*s people off more than the benefit received from the comic.
I had bought this thinking of using the comics in various presentations and meetings, but definitely i can't use it for that purpose as it is too satirical for my context and will pi*s people off more than the benefit received from the comic.
January 11, 2020
Congratulations on your 30 years Dilbert! Sometimes the best bits of comic relief are those closest to what is happening around you. Had a blast on this. You’re a beast Scott Adams for being smart and funny at the same time for 30 years. I agree, “(t)here’s no kill switch in awesome”!
January 9, 2020
Yes! A birthday present to myself.
August 19, 2022
Hilarious! I just wish it were longer!
January 15, 2020
This is primarily a collection of nearly the year of most recent material (April 2018 to Feb 2019). I was rather hoping for more of a retrospective and overview. At least we do get a “Top 50” strips from 2009-2018 at the back as selected from the website metrics. I would have preferred something with a little more editorial oversight and covering all 30 years – a hand on the tiller rather than a click-harvest report. I enjoyed the strips filled with nihilist humor, but many of the others are often angrier than I remember.
May 21, 2022
Every time I go back to a Dilbert comic I'm left with a bigger sense that the satire has given way to glib nihilism, which means the satire isn't that funny... even when the comic is reflecting real-life absurdities.
However, I still have a warm spot for the series that makes me check out a new book every chance I get. And I always find a few comic strips that still make it worth it.
However, I still have a warm spot for the series that makes me check out a new book every chance I get. And I always find a few comic strips that still make it worth it.
February 25, 2020
Dilbert Turns 30:
Scott Adams
2019
Help Menu is labelled “Reformat Hard Drive’ – welcome to the world of Dilbert. Management strategies on how not to succeed but survive none the less.
Ready for some of our favourites?
Page 7:
• Did anyone test our user interface before we shipped it?
• No, our customers will tell us what they don’t like about it. And they work for free.
Page 18: Stress and Happy
Page 29: One hour before my meeting…
34: I have been a contractor here for over a year. Maybe you should just hire me.
49: Your plan is dumb because it reminds me of something different that didn’t work out.
67: The job market is so competitive we can’t even find ex-cons who want to work here
70: Ted says you called him a liar. Our policy forbids disrespecting your co-workers.
79: Tina says you yelled at her for not having the information you requested
140: I have a budget meeting tomorrow with our CFO
Scott Adams
2019
Help Menu is labelled “Reformat Hard Drive’ – welcome to the world of Dilbert. Management strategies on how not to succeed but survive none the less.
Ready for some of our favourites?
Page 7:
• Did anyone test our user interface before we shipped it?
• No, our customers will tell us what they don’t like about it. And they work for free.
Page 18: Stress and Happy
Page 29: One hour before my meeting…
34: I have been a contractor here for over a year. Maybe you should just hire me.
49: Your plan is dumb because it reminds me of something different that didn’t work out.
67: The job market is so competitive we can’t even find ex-cons who want to work here
70: Ted says you called him a liar. Our policy forbids disrespecting your co-workers.
79: Tina says you yelled at her for not having the information you requested
140: I have a budget meeting tomorrow with our CFO
November 7, 2019
Most recent (as of November 2019) Dilbert collection. If you like Dilbert it is well worth reading. My favorite involves a millennial raised by smartphones. Another good one is where someone threatens to choke Catbert with his own tail.
To celebrate 30 years. Adams has a special section of the top 50 strips. Unfortunately the top 50 trended toward more recent stuff, and it did not have some of the older classics that I thought should be on the list. Specifically, St. Dogbert purging the demons of stupidity.
To celebrate 30 years. Adams has a special section of the top 50 strips. Unfortunately the top 50 trended toward more recent stuff, and it did not have some of the older classics that I thought should be on the list. Specifically, St. Dogbert purging the demons of stupidity.
February 4, 2023
You'd really think by now that these would get samey but they don't. Every two or three pages you want to copy one and stick it on the door of your office because it fits your organisation so well. These will build up into a potted history of managerial idiocy (fads, empire building, hiring dysfunctional colleagues). Still essential and equally a good place to start for those poor souls who haven't joined Dogbert's New Ruling Class yet.
January 27, 2020
I started reading Dilbert not long after Adams started making fun of corporate geek culture in 1989, when I graduated from high school and took my first IT part-time job. I've remained a regular reader now, where I find myself 30 years later in a senior position in IT.
Apparently my reading comprehension isn't all that great! :-)
Apparently my reading comprehension isn't all that great! :-)
October 22, 2022
Sometimes you just need to read some silly cartoons to relax. Mission accomplished with this work. A number of things with Scott Adams are getting a bit too annoying as he gets too full of himself, but his skill as a cartoonist has not diminished, and he does capture the modern work zeitgeist pretty well.
December 27, 2019
Though I am not a fan of Scott Adams’s politics (he supports Trump), I always enjoy the Dilbert comics. As I have said before, reading Dilbert is a better education for business and management than a MBA.
January 9, 2020
Great as always.
Not convinced the 50 strips from the last decade were the best of the last decade, there have been some much better ones.
Not convinced the 50 strips from the last decade were the best of the last decade, there have been some much better ones.
March 13, 2020
Such a fun read. I can relate to Dilbert on so many levels.
June 10, 2020
Funny and incisive as always.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews