Saturday, February 25

Dilbert and Friends Have Left the Office

Hard to believe none of that crew took an early buyout and retired to live off their 401ks years ago.  Dilbert's creator chose the opposite of Bill Watterson, who was penning Calvin and Hobbes during the same years Dilbert was starting out...

One respected his creation and did not show the travails of coming of age in the modern political world. Dilbert's father kept him working through it all, and instead of charting his own  path -- running that sled off-trail, as the boy and his tiger often did -- the corporate overloads always controlled Dilbert and his gang, his work gang, as they grew increasingly frustrated with their workplace but never succeeded in changing anything.

Today, they decided his journey ended.  For whatever reason -- (I stopped reading news of Scott Adams' brain long long ago.  Some of the cartoons were cute; he never should have been "followed" as a social commentator beyond his artwork, in the same way nobody really should be listening to Joe "Is Fear a Factor for You?" Rogan to develop political leanings or get politically educated.

Somtimes you gotta think for yourself, stop aping others just going along to get along, and go to the source material for the basics on which to think...

Calvin (and Hobbes) understood that from the get-go.  Dilbert never did.

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Bill Watterson:

William Boyd Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is an American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes at the end of 1995, with a short statement to newspaper editors and his readers that he felt he had achieved all he could in the medium. Watterson is known for his negative views on comic syndication and licensing, his efforts to expand and elevate the newspaper comic as an art form, and his move back into private life after he stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes. Watterson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Chagrin FallsOhio. The suburban Midwestern United States setting of Ohio was part of the inspiration for Calvin and Hobbes.

Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957)[2] is an American author and cartoonist. He writes in a satirical, often sarcastic way about the social and psychological landscape of white-collar workers in modern corporations. He is the creator of the syndicated Dilbert comic strip, and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. Adams worked in various business roles before he became a full-time cartoonist in 1995. He worked at Pacific Bell between 1986 and June 30, 1995; the personalities he encountered there inspired many of his Dilbert characters.[14] Adams launched Dilbert with United Media in 1989, while at Pacific Bell. He continued to draw his cartoons at 4 a.m., maintaining his income. His first paycheck for Dilbert was a monthly royalty check of $368.62.[9] Dilbert gradually became more popular. It was syndicated in 100 newspapers in 1991 and 400 by 1994. 

Adams attributes his success to his idea of including his e-mail address in the panels, thus facilitating reader feedback and suggestions.[9]

Dilbert gained national prominence during the downsizing period in 1990s America and reached a worldwide audience. In addition Adams has written books in various other areas, including the spiritual experiment God's Debris encapsulating a form of pandeism, and books on political and management topics, including Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter.

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Scott Adams, creator of the long-running comic strip, called Black Americans a "hate group."