What is Dilbert? Put simply, Dilbert began as a journey into the life of an intelligent yet naïve engineer coupled with a remarkably similar (and cynical) dog - i.e. Dogbert, transforming over time into the satirical play on the inner workings of a faceless conglomerate that we have all came to know and love. This article concerns itself mostly with the comic itself, merely touching on the topic of its author.

Origin of the Strips

In the beginning, there was the Comic... ?¹

The first ever appearances Dilbert made were in...

Slide shows.

That's right, before any comics were made, Dilbert had been created for the sole purpose of adding some humour into otherwise dull business meetings. Then, one day, some one thought 'Hey, that's a pretty neat idea!', and suggested that Scott Adams (the author of the Dilbert strips) try marketing them. And so, our protaganist thought 'Why not?'. And so he did.

The number of strips now in existance is huge, but it all began with only 50. Yep, that's right - about seven weeks worth, at the present rate of production. The strips were rated and commented upon by a number of people. (Some, but not all, of whom were aquaintances of the author. If you're thinking 'boy, that's quick!', just remember that the author wasn't really that rich.) Responses to strips were varied, but everyone agreed on one thing: the strip was good!

The next obvious step was syndication. Well, with a response like that, who wouldn't want to take it? And so, this in mind, Scott Adams - a complete unknown with no previous experience in writing comics - sent his strips along, with a condensed account of the reactions of various readers, to a number of organisations.

Responses ranged from complimentary but appologetic through to the downright impersonal. One suggested, on further correspondance, that he take art classes (a perfectly reasonable suggestion, since despite being brilliantly inventive they did look rather like they had been drawn by a twelve-year old).

However, divine providence intervened, their promise being spotted by United Media, by whom the first Dilbert strip was published in April 1989.

And now, the fun begins...

But Who is this Dilbert Guy?!?

Good question. As the comic has evolved, so also have the characters, and Dilbert has underwent a number of subtle changes over the years.

The Cast

Business is Business...

Nowadays, most of the action seems to go on in the company where Dilbert works. There, we find characters ranging from overwrought tech support assistants through to cynical and uncompromising co-workers (often referred to by Dilbert enthusiasts as 'cow-irkers' - don't ask). To first time readers, they may seem like a baffling array of seemingly insane and individually pointless beings. They are a baffling array of seemingly insane and individually pointless beings - most of the humour derives from the richness of the interactions between them. These may seem initially simple and superficial to casual readers, but to the hard-core Dilbert fan there is a depth to them that defies the sheer variety of social idiocies and corporate paradoxes they embody. That makes them funny :-P.

However, to ease the transition period and to help first time readers get the most from their experience, here is a rough guide to the strange and scary people that (somehow) keep the entire conglomerate going...

LIST OF CHARACTERS TO BE ADDED HERE

Home, Sweet Home

As was stated earlier, the very first use of Dilbert was in business presentations, in order to elucidate points and add some light comic relief. However, a significant amount of activity takes place in Dilbert's own home, and a whole cast of characters has evolved with this purpose in mind.