The Dilbertization of America
Albert Hsu
January 1, 1996
A sad event commemorated the end of 1995: on December 31, our two faithful friends Calvin and Hobbes sledded out of newspapers' comics pages and into history. Their creator, Bill Watterson, had become increasingly frustrated with the restrictions and constraints of the comic strip industry and decided it was time to move on. At least he opted out at the top of his game, following the example of other cartoonists like Gary Larson with The Far Side and Berkeley Breathed with Bloom County. There's something sad about a comic strip that outlives its funniness. Remember when Garfield still made you laugh?
Dilbert symbolizes a paradigm shift in our approach to work. Think about the work ethic of older comics, displayed in characters like Dagwood Bumstead. Dagwood might symbolize the workers of the World War II generation: a lifelong company man. You were never quite sure what he did, but he had his own office. Mr. Dithers yelled at Dagwood when he fell asleep on the job, but Dagwood never worried about job security or corporate downsizing.
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