A Real Dilbert in Bloom County
Most people are aware that Dilbert is one of the most widely-read comic strips in the world. It happens to be my favorite daily comic strip, and has been for many years. In fact the only comic strip that I enjoyed more in my life was Bloom County, which was drawn by the great Berkeley Breathed from 1980-1989.
This summer I happen to be reading through some of my old Bloom County collections. Imagine my surprise when I read a certain strip from 1988. Opus has been railroaded into running for Vice President on the Meadow Party ticket - the running mate of Bill the Cat. Opus is up on a stump attempting to deliver a campaign speech and is being heckled by Milquetoast the Cockroach.
Milquetoast delivers the following assessment of Opus: "What a Rube! What a Loon! What a Real Dilbert!" (Classics of Western Literature: Bloom County 1986-1989, Page 149)
Bear in mind that this strip was published in 1988, the year before Scott Adams began publishing the Dilbert comic strip. This makes one wonder if Scott Adams "borrowed" the name of his main character from this Bloom County strip. Or at least it makes one wonder if Scott Adams was a fan of Bloom County.
In any event Dilbert is well worth checking out: Official Dilbert Website
You can also check out Berkeley Breathed's website.
This summer I happen to be reading through some of my old Bloom County collections. Imagine my surprise when I read a certain strip from 1988. Opus has been railroaded into running for Vice President on the Meadow Party ticket - the running mate of Bill the Cat. Opus is up on a stump attempting to deliver a campaign speech and is being heckled by Milquetoast the Cockroach.
Milquetoast delivers the following assessment of Opus: "What a Rube! What a Loon! What a Real Dilbert!" (Classics of Western Literature: Bloom County 1986-1989, Page 149)
Bear in mind that this strip was published in 1988, the year before Scott Adams began publishing the Dilbert comic strip. This makes one wonder if Scott Adams "borrowed" the name of his main character from this Bloom County strip. Or at least it makes one wonder if Scott Adams was a fan of Bloom County.
In any event Dilbert is well worth checking out: Official Dilbert Website
You can also check out Berkeley Breathed's website.
posted by Just4yucks | 12:17 PM
3 Comments:
I have a feeling i read somewhere that Scott got the name from a cartoon about a pilot named Dilbert. Have you read the history section on the website? It might have been there...
I think Scott Adams actually covered the origin of Dilbert in "Seven Years of Highly Defective People" where he said he had seen a character in a Navy training school comic named "Dilbert," who always served as the negative example. Scott was a kid at the time, but the association with the name Dilbert and ineptatude stuck. When he started doing the comic, he picked the name Dilbert, then only realized the source after the fact.
So, to take the question in the other direction, where did BB pick up the name Dilbert?
Scott Adams did not get the name from Bloom County.
The name existed before the comic strip, I think you've just found another example of a name that existed being used at some point in the past.
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