One of the hardest parts of my job is figuring out what other people will think is funny. You’d think that would be easy, but my own sense of humor is far from the mainstream. I can’t assume others will laugh at the same things I find funny.
In 1988, before I submitted the first fifty Dilbert comics for syndication, I asked my friends to sort them into the piles they liked most and least. My plan was to only submit the comics my friends liked most. Surprisingly, I found zero correlation across friends. One person’s favorite was another person’s most hated. In the end, I submitted all fifty comics. Apparently that worked.
Since then, I’ve learned I can’t predict when a comic will work. This past week or so is a perfect example. I almost didn’t submit the comic below. It seemed more weird than funny, but it satisfied my two-of-six humor rule, so I went with it. To my surprise, it got a huge positive response, at least from Americans who recognize the phrase “all hands meeting.”
Click to enlarge.
...
Compare that to a comic I consider one of my all-time personal favorites. I didn’t get one positive e-mail about it.
...
Maybe it was too subtle. You’re supposed to imagine the pointy-haired-boss sparking a flatulence/gasoline explosion. But what I like best about it is the desperation displayed by Carol the secretary. She thinks a flint golf ball and a timely cloud of flatulence is her best hope of improving her job satisfaction.
Which comic did you like best?
I had the same issue at an art show this weekend with my comics. Most people got the jokes but some were scratching their heads. One even asked if I woke up in the middle of the night to write this stuff!! I just said- nope it comes naturally!
Posted by: Joe S | April 17, 2008 at 07:08 AM
The exploding golf cart is one of my favorites along with the one that followed!
Posted by: Big Al | July 22, 2007 at 01:45 PM
On Australian TV a few years back there was a series of 'Great Debates'. In one about whether science or comedy was more important my favourite line was: "if comedy is more important than science the greatest moment in human history would not be harnassing a load to a wheel but the harnassing of the fart for jokes"
- the second one gets my vote...
(apologies to Andrew Denton for any inaccuracy in the above quote)
Posted by: Free William | July 18, 2007 at 08:52 PM
"I'd have to say up the butt, Bob."
Posted by: schelf | July 18, 2007 at 10:56 AM
The second one made me laugh out loud. The hands down winner. ;) The first was OK, but not hilarious.
Posted by: Gini | July 18, 2007 at 02:17 AM
I liked them both, but the second really got a laugh out of me. Sadistic and twisted all the way.
Posted by: Al Newberry | July 17, 2007 at 11:13 PM
I preferred the all-hands one specifically because it was so different and odd. The flint one, I got it, but it just seemed rather bland and pedestrian, like you were phoning it in.
For comparative purposes, I've actually been rereading my (really) old Dilbert books this week, and here are a few I marked as favorites in the book I'm on right now to show to a friend:
(1) From 5/16/05 -- Nowadays this seems OOC for Dilbert but it makes me laugh. It's something I might just have been ballsy enough to say :D
VP: "I could give you marketing's approval right now... or I could flex my vice presidential power and send you to gather more useless data... my ego would expand and I'd be a major stallion with my wife tonight. Do you think you can top that?"
Dilbert: "I'll try, sir. What's your wife's address?"
(2) 5/24/95 -- one of my all time favorites
Dogbert: "You can create the illusion that you work long hours by leaving voice mails for your boss at 4 AM"
Dilbert (on the phone): "Hi, this is Dilbert. It's 4 AM and I'm in my underwear and I thought of you... oops... erase... oops" (beep, boop, Dogbert's ears flare up)
Dogbert: Did you just send an obscene message to your boss?"
Dilbert: "No... I think I hit the group code."
(3) It's too long to go into, but the 8/13/95 one about the ant farm engineering is delightfully hilarious.
(4) From 11/10/95
PHB: "How long will it take to fix any problems we find in our beta product?
Dilbert: "It is logically impossible to schedule for the unknown."
PHB: "Try to think as a manager, not as an enginner."
Dilbert: "In that case, we'll fix the problems before we find them."
Posted by: Steve | July 17, 2007 at 04:06 PM
I prefered the second one. I think that's down to my toilet humour, but it could also be down to not understanding the all hands one. All hands may be an American thing, maybe I'm just slow! Either way, I love reading the Daily Dilbert!
Posted by: UKCodeMonkey | July 17, 2007 at 02:40 AM
I am a secretary at a construction firm (trade is notorious for golfing often to assuade the customer) and I laughed out loud and for a very long time when I read the golf thing.
Me.
Holding the newspaper.
In our lunchroom with 10 other people.
And I am the only one guffawing like a psycho.
I so related.
Thank you.
And I scanned it and send it to my boss.
He was not amused.
Posted by: Queen B | July 16, 2007 at 01:17 PM
Wow, 599 responses! Lets make that 600, even if it is a few days late. British, so what exactly is an "all hands" meeting? Therefore I like the second one.
I have a few favourite strips cut out and framed around the place, and one of my all-time favourites is the one where Dilbert makes Dogbert the Auto-petter.
Aren't you overdue for the second edition of the Treasury of Sunday Strips?
Posted by: Pete | July 16, 2007 at 12:52 PM
Scott, I'm guessing you read these comments not for their useless value but because you get a kick out of people who have accomplished practically nothing with their lives, trying to tell you what you shoud do.
As far as answering your question, I had to flip a coin. It came up edge. Next time I'll try a dime instead.
P.S. I would still like to find your sock puppet pages somewhere. Mine was a tie-dyed sock that attacked me. I had to put it down, unfortunately.
Posted by: bradmaas | July 16, 2007 at 12:32 PM
Many years ago when I was little, I read one of your strips on Cognitive Dissonance. When I was undergoing my Psych degree and learning about the concept, I recalled the strip and finally understood it. :) That was my favourite. Any idea how I could get a copy of that?
Posted by: sg | July 16, 2007 at 12:08 PM
I have to admit to preferring the second one. I love the "all hands" meeting, because its so simple. But the other requires *gasp* thought, and a mental visual, and well, that works for me.
Posted by: Chaundra | July 16, 2007 at 08:20 AM
The all hands one made me laugh out loud. I used to work for the Navy, and we had All Hands meetings all the time. They were not usually creepy, just instensely boring.
I liked the golf one too.
You have once again divided the humor audience into two groups: those who like wordplay, and those who like fart jokes. I'm not usually a fan of fart jokes, but the golf cart one was really good, because it appeals on other levels as well (like comitting mischief on the boss). :)
Posted by: Gail | July 16, 2007 at 07:16 AM
The flint golf ball is one of my favorites.
I have never written to anyone about any comic, so it shows response doesn't mean that much, it just means that people that have enough time to send you responses didn't like it.
keep up the good work with the blog and the stripping.
Posted by: exiledsurveyor | July 15, 2007 at 09:00 PM
i liked the hands one better. i didnt get the second one, and then when i read the explanation, i still didn't find it very funny. but the hand one is good. i like that sort of thing.
Posted by: Ashleigh | July 15, 2007 at 07:30 PM
The hands comic was dumb. Sorry it took me a few days to say that. They put up a new web filter at work, so I can no longer access your blog while getting paid. However, I can read the daily comic between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. They presume I'm having lunch then.
Posted by: Pandu das | July 15, 2007 at 07:14 PM
My favorite Dilbert comic:
Taking "casual day" too far. Dilbert is in his robe and slippers, and Wally is buck nekkid.
Hilarious!
Posted by: Melanie | July 15, 2007 at 07:07 PM
Flint golfball wins hands down
Posted by: mbisanz | July 15, 2007 at 05:00 PM
The first 'hand' strip - weird not funny. I can tell you that from firsthand experience, but maybe it's because I'm Canadian.
The second 'golf cart' strip is hilarious - one of your best. LOL
Posted by: Steve Chapple | July 14, 2007 at 05:59 PM
Fortunately or unfortunately I actually liked them both...
The all hand meeting definitely hit a nerve and I sent it out to a few ex-coworkers as I think they have one of those on Monday. Luckily enough at my new job we don't have those BS meetings.
I really liked the 'flint' one too. Funny enough Caddyshack 2 was just on [okay not an all time great but it fits here] and Chandler Young [Robert Stack] hits a exploding golf ball and it blows up in his face. Plus who was it that said farts = funny :)
Posted by: Anthony | July 14, 2007 at 02:20 PM
I loved the golf cart flatulence comic. The "All Hands" one was just okay for me.
Posted by: Johnny D. | July 14, 2007 at 12:51 PM
Didn't get the first one but suspect that's my good luck.
Loved the 2nd one. Right with you.
Posted by: Danny | July 14, 2007 at 12:48 PM
I liked the second one better, but I grew up in Kansas.
Posted by: Conrad | July 14, 2007 at 11:56 AM
I got them both, and liked the first one better. I am subjected to *way* too many all-hands meetings from different organizations, as being an IT guy, I'm matrixed to a lot of them.
Posted by: Ray | July 14, 2007 at 09:02 AM