What Would Wally Do?

Dilbert #27

by Scott Adams

What would the world of work be like without Dilbert? Downright insufferable!

When it became syndicated in 1989, Dilbert struck a nerve with workers everywhere. Through its frames they saw life on the job as they knew it, with all the absurdity, craziness, and dry humor that underlies any living, breathing organization. The fact that the strip focused on a hapless engineer and his cynical dog just made it all the more funny.

Now work life seems downright unimaginable without Dilbert and Dogbert's take on everything from management ill-practices to nonperformance reviews. What Would Wally Do?, delivers that same combination of pain and humor that readers count on. This collection especially highlights Wally, Dilbert's colleague, fellow engineer, foil, and fool.

Wally's that short quirky guy with little hair, plenty of horn-rimmed frames, and almost zero work ethic. After all, who's got time for a job, thinks the self-proclaimed "Lord Wally the Puppet Master," when you're busy surviving the "Mobility Pool," turning your cubicle into a tourist attraction called "Sticky-Note City," and selecting a mail-order bride from Elbonia? Weasel-Boy makes a point of highlighting his poor performance and lack of respect . . .and usually gets another raise for his efforts. Such is life in Dilbert and Wally's world. Such are the laughs in What Would Wally Do?

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Comic Strips, Cartoon, Fiction, Comedy

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Scott Adams was a defining voice of the American white-collar experience who transitioned from a prominent cartoonist into a polarizing political commentator. After earning an MBA from UC Berkeley and spending years in management at Pacific Bell, Adams launched the comic strip Dilbert in 1989. The strip’s sharp satire of corporate bureaucracy and the "Dilbert Principle"—the idea that incompetent employees are promoted to management to minimize their damage—resonated globally, eventually appearing in 2,000 newspapers and winning the prestigious Reuben Award. Beyond the funny pages, Adams explored philosophy and persuasion in works like God's Debris and Win Bigly, the latter of which analyzed Donald Trump’s rhetorical strategies during the 2016 election. His career took a dramatic turn during the mid-2010s as he shifted focus to his daily "Real Coffee" livestream, where he combined his background in hypnosis and corporate strategy to comment on the "culture wars." This period of independent commentary culminated in 2023 when he reacted to a poll regarding racial tensions with a series of inflammatory remarks. Labeling Black Americans a "hate group" and advocating for racial segregation, Adams faced immediate and widespread repercussions; hundreds of newspapers dropped his strip, and his publisher canceled his upcoming projects. Undeterred, he moved his work to the subscription-based platform Locals, rebranding his comic as Dilbert Reborn. In his final years, he faced severe health challenges, including stage IV prostate cancer and vocal cord issues, yet he remained a prolific presence on social media. He eventually announced the end of his hand-drawn work due to focal dystonia but continued to direct the strip's vision. Adams’s legacy remains a complex study in the power of branding, the evolution of digital influence, and the volatile intersection of creative genius and political provocation in the modern era.

Reviews

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wally is probably my favorite character, except for maybe Alice. I am a total Alice, but Wally is my spirit animal.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm actually re reading this book for about the third time now. I LOVE the Dilbert comics! Scott Adams is hilarious and his view of the business world and life in general reminds me so much of myself a lot of the time. I have worked for the characters in this book, and I feel like I AM Wally. Wally is my hero. I relate to him the most of all the Dilbert characters, although I relate to Dilbert and Dogbert and many of the others as well. His books make me laugh out loud. I have read a few of them over the years, but I lost track of which ones because they were loaners. I'm in the process of buying them now. But this is one that I own and it's a gem. Wally is so comfortable with doing things his own way, even though it is the opposite of what everyone else thinks he should do most of the time. This is both hilarious, and true to my life. You don't have to be a major Dilbert reader to enjoy this book, or any of his books. They're just good fun. and btw, Wally is based on someone Scott worked with! Would love to meet that guy, and Scott too, of course.

[SKP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically all the Dilbert comics that include Wally. I’ve read many of them in other Dilbert books. Some of the strips are taken out of context of a series of strips, and didn’t really make sense. The last many pages of the book were repeats from earlier pages. Not the best Dilbert book I’ve read, but OK.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some repeats got past editing.

Good black and white illustration, some color artwork as well. Some repeats occur at the end and should have been spotted by editor? Contains almost every wally appearence that Dilbert did.

[Jonathan Waugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wally is my favourite character in the Dilbert universe, and features heavily in this compilation. Brilliant! 5/5

[Jess Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book

If you’ve been reading the entire Dilbert series, many of these comics will be repeating comics. They are still funny and entertaining.

[Jimyanni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a typical Dilbert book; it's a hilarious look at incompetent corporate silliness; if you're familiar with the Dilbert strips and know that you like them, you'll certainly want to read this one. If you're not familiar with them, this is as good a place to start as any. If you've read other Dilbert books and didn't care for them, you won't want to read this one, but you don't need me to tell you that.

[Indika de Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dilbert character Wally is my role model. No questions about it. I follow his advice religiously. To me he is the next Messiah. (Sorry Dogbert!)

This book contains a wealth of Wally Wisdom. It was my privilege to read this book by ignoring all the work that was assigned to me.

I even got someone else to type this review as I am a true discipline of Wally.

All Hail Wally!!!!

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all might have started out like Calvin with a great view of life. But after hitting the workforce we all somewhat become Dilbert. Everyone knows someone like one of the characters in the strips. Highly recommended

[Valerie]

Worth reading, even if you think you've had all the office humor you can stand for the forward about the co-worker who inspired Wally.

[Kevin Connery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dilbert

[Tom M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another fine Dilbert collection.