by Scott Adams
Part of Dilbert, book 10
First published 1997
Scott Adams opens his sketchbook to show how Dilbert grew from a 1989 startup into the workplace comic that captured corporate America. Adams fills these pages with handwritten commentary explaining which characters surprised him by becoming regulars, which strips generated the most reader mail, and what objects give him the most trouble to draw. Each chapter focuses on a different character from the Dilbert universe. Adams traces their origins and explains the real workplace experiences that shaped them. He walks readers through his creative decisions and reveals what he was thinking when he developed each personality. The book combines previously published strips with Adams' behind-the-scenes notes. Readers get both the finished comics and the creator's unfiltered thoughts about his seven-year journey building a comic empire around office dysfunction.
Genres: humor, business, non-fiction, comics
Vibes: thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: behind-the-scenes, creator-commentary
Period: 1989, 1990s
256 pages · Paperback · Andrews McMeel Publishing