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Dilbert #5
Traedme la cabeza de Willy el recadero!
Yet another right-on-target collection of comic strips from Dilbert, the world-renowned fictional cubicle worker of engineer-turned-cartoonist Scott Adams. Rarely is there an office these days that doesn't have at least one Dilbert strip tacked up somewhere that employees gather to either laugh off or lament the sometimes inane practices of top-level management. Think you're surrounded by morons at work? Dilbert, and his canine companion Dogbert, are the consultants you should visit next.
128 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1995
4 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Scott Adams
242 books1,310 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 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 31, 2017
Best setup ever.
Wednesday May 01, 1991
August 3, 2011
Bring Me The Head Of Willy The Mailboy / 0836217799
By my count this is the 4th collection of unique Dilbert strips and though it's an older collection, it's still very very funny. This is one of the first books where Adams started experimenting with the really zany and supernatural elements in his work -- we're introduced in this volume to the accounting trolls, Mother Nature (who kills Dilbert in an idea she got from a Gary Larson cartoon!), and Dilbert is "cloned back to life" from his own garbage and a cloning invention that also (it's a feature, not a bug!) dispenses a chile con carne recipe. What could be more fun?
One of the things I like about these older collections in retrospect is the pointy-haired boss who is not really yet pointy-haired, who has noticeable jowls, and who is abusive and angry rather than clueless -- he provides an extra dimension in Dilbert's workplace struggles that I somewhat miss in retrospect to the more modern comics.
If you're a Dilbert fan and you don't have this book in your collection, I highly recommend it.
~ Ana Mardoll
By my count this is the 4th collection of unique Dilbert strips and though it's an older collection, it's still very very funny. This is one of the first books where Adams started experimenting with the really zany and supernatural elements in his work -- we're introduced in this volume to the accounting trolls, Mother Nature (who kills Dilbert in an idea she got from a Gary Larson cartoon!), and Dilbert is "cloned back to life" from his own garbage and a cloning invention that also (it's a feature, not a bug!) dispenses a chile con carne recipe. What could be more fun?
One of the things I like about these older collections in retrospect is the pointy-haired boss who is not really yet pointy-haired, who has noticeable jowls, and who is abusive and angry rather than clueless -- he provides an extra dimension in Dilbert's workplace struggles that I somewhat miss in retrospect to the more modern comics.
If you're a Dilbert fan and you don't have this book in your collection, I highly recommend it.
~ Ana Mardoll
March 1, 2013
Fourth Dilbert comic book...one left on the shelf before I have to find new bathroom reading material.
October 23, 2013
These early Dilbert strips show Adams still looking around for the elements of the strip, but in some ways that makes them more interesting (though not necessarily more funny) than the strip tends to be, now that it's established its patterns and parameters. The boss is still a jerk rather than an idiot, there's only a proto-Wally, Elbonia is only just introduced, no Alice etc. but there's still a lot of funny stuff, and a bit more range to it, as Adams had not yet really turned his full attention to the office world as the focus. The humour is more nerd-general than office-specific, with a higher quotient of whimsical fantasy than we tend to get any more (the dinosaurs have almost entirelyvanished, for instance--I can't remember the last time we saw them in the current strip).Fun.
December 15, 2016
Dilbert is always totally awesome! Probably my favorite comic strip.
September 17, 2012
A nice, quick, and entertaining read. This is one of the earlier volumes, so, if you have read Dilbert over time, you will notice the differences as the artist improved the comic. There are some classic gems in this volume, including Dilbert's trip to the Accounting Dept. to ask a question about the budget (plus what happens when he finds the Accounting Dept.'s own budget) and more. If you are fan, you will probably like this. A good volume, but there are better out there.
February 27, 2013
Reading the old Dilbert is a trip and a half, since sometimes they are dated and give clear indications supporting the supposition that they were drawn in the 1990s. But they have aged well and are still very funny.
March 3, 2015
We all might have started out like Calvin with a great view of life. But after hitting the workforce we all somewhat become Dilbert. Everyone knows someone like one of the characters in the strips. Highly recommended
October 29, 2008
Dilbert and Dogbert helped get me through 17 years of cubicle dwelling.
November 30, 2008
This isn't the best of the Dilbert series, but it's still good for a afternoon of laughs. Scott Adams is a great cartoonist!
September 14, 2013
3.5 Some classic, often enjoyable strips - but I prefer both his themes and characters after a bit more refinement (and pointy-hairedness) had kicked in.
March 22, 2015
Enh... a quick read. Not the best of Dilbert but a few good strips in the bunch.
August 4, 2012
This book was just ok. Not Scott Adams' finest Dilbert moment
August 28, 2017
Such a stark contrast to the 2000s strips, both in artwork, tone, and gags. The strip was so oddball and disjointed, and it's barely ever about office life. A lot of the gags are bad puns or terrible word play; not the good kind like Pearls Before Swine, more like poor Far Side jokes.
Many of the characters are barely recognizable. Dilbert, Dogbert, and Wally are all here, but Dilbert's boss, Alice, and the rest of the supporting cast is vastly different than their current incarnations.
Very interesting to see how different the origins were compared to its eventual heights. What a difference 10 years makes on an artist's work!
One of the better strips:
Many of the characters are barely recognizable. Dilbert, Dogbert, and Wally are all here, but Dilbert's boss, Alice, and the rest of the supporting cast is vastly different than their current incarnations.
Very interesting to see how different the origins were compared to its eventual heights. What a difference 10 years makes on an artist's work!
One of the better strips:
August 19, 2025
The jokes are slowing becoming more funny. The characters are slowly becoming recognizable except for the boss. Still i think some jokes don't land as well as his best work in a couple of years after this.
July 2, 2017
Quite a few laugh out loud moments...
August 13, 2017
Pocet udernych super stripu se vyrazne snizil a je tu vic divny stripu, ktere me nebavili nebo jsem je.nepochopila... porad dobre,ale uz jenom to...
April 27, 2020
Another good set of comics. There were some pretty bad pubs mixed in.
June 11, 2020
excellent! dinosaurs living in his house, saving the world, men and women and no wonder we don't understand each other.
July 23, 2021
Vintage Dilbert
Read
July 23, 2022High art!
August 16, 2024
Interesting to see how many of these jokes have held up....except for maybe the one that references Fotomat.
July 21, 2025
Atleast these Dilbert comics don't just highlight the workplace!
September 13, 2025
2.5 stars, rounded down.
December 1, 2025
More misses than hits in this collection. You get the feeling that Adams was running out of steam and ideas by the time this one came around. Still the occasional gem though.
December 21, 2023
Whether it be the numerous illegal requirements at his job, or the always questionable plots Dogbert has planned for the idiots around them, Dilbert can never seem to find a moment of peace - especially when he finds himself tasked with the inane and insane. Adams will keep readers chuckling again and again with another hilarious collection of comical mayhem. Will Dilbert ever find a moment of peace, or is he doomed to spend the rest of his career cleaning up after others?
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews