Does this Dilbert cartoon actually exist, or did I imagine it?

April 10, 2020 9:44 AM

I have a distinct memory of seeing a Dilbert cartoon related to working from home. But I can't find the cartoon using Google, and I'm starting to think that I imagined the whole thing.

The cartoon would have been from about 15 or 20 years ago. It shows Dilbert sitting in a recliner chair, watching TV in his living room. He's wearing a bathrobe and slippers. Behind him is a desk with a landline and a fax machine, and they both have the receiver off the hook. The TV features a voice saying, "And today on Geraldo: People who get paid to stay at home... and do nothing!"

I found a bunch of other Dilbert cartoons that deal with working from home, but not this one. I also tried to see if it was some other type of cartoon (not Dilbert), but can't find any evidence for it. I'm starting to think that I imagined it.

posted by JD Sockinger to Society & Culture (7 answers total)

I don't recall that particular cartoon, but you can try searching the text of all Dilbert cartoons. I tried a few searches but didn't find anything that matched what you described.
posted by davcoo at 10:12 AM on April 10, 2020

Maybe it was an animated short? I'm not sure how you'd depict things behind other things with Dilbert's typical straight horizontal perspective.
posted by pwnguin at 11:25 AM on April 10, 2020

Response by poster: With regard to the perspective: The way I remember it, the cartoon showed Dilbert in a profile view. The TV was on the left side of the panel. Dilbert (sitting in the chair) was in the middle of the panel, facing toward the TV. The desk with the phone and fax machine was on the right side of the panel (so it would have been behind Dilbert from his perspective).
posted by JD Sockinger at 11:38 AM on April 10, 2020

Actually reminds me of bizzaro or far side maybe... I have a vague memory of this but remember it as a single pamel comic.
posted by chasles at 1:04 PM on April 10, 2020

This is the only Dilbert sequence about working from home that I remember: https://www.gocomics.com/dilbert-classics/2018/04/10 (I particularly remembered the "monkey beards" strip.)
posted by LadyOscar at 1:33 PM on April 10, 2020

Best answer: The comic you're thinking of appeared in the Dilbert book "Build a Better Life by Stealing Office Supplies", which (unlike most Dilbert books) wasn't a collection of newspaper comic strips. The exact line is: "Next on Oprah: workers who get paid for staying home doing nothing."

I've posted the comic here for reference. The full book is available on the Internet Archive here.
posted by CahootsMalone at 12:27 PM on April 11, 2020 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: Wow, CahootsMalone, you nailed it. I'm grateful to you for your help, and I'm happy that my memory was accurate (more or less, anyway). Thank you!
posted by JD Sockinger at 11:29 AM on April 13, 2020