Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain! Hardback - 2007

de Adams, Scott

Everyone knows Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, as the king of workplace humor. His brilliant insights into the crazy world of business have long been on display in his hugely popular comic strip and bestselling books like The Dilbert Principle. But there's much more to life than work, and it turns out that the man behind Dogbert and the Pointy-Haired Boss has an equally outrageous take on life outside the cubicle.

Now Adams ventures into uncharted territory in this hilarious collection of more than 150 short pieces on everything from lunar real estate to exploding bladders, not to mention politics, religion, dating, underwear, alien life, and the menace of car singing.

In his essays on Helpful Critical Guy syndrome (HCGS) and the Who Cares Most (WCM) Method, Adams shares his recently acquired insights on married life. He shares his diet secret that involves experiencing a wrenching personal problem to lose weight or, if that fails, buying stretch pants and growing a goatee. He also gives expert advice on how to appear smarter than you are (two words: zeitgeist and eponymous).

Adams isn't afraid to confront the most pressing questions of our day, such as the pros and cons of toothpaste smuggling, why kangaroos don't drive cars, and whether or not Jesus would approve of your second iPod.

His 'optimistic cynicism' enlivens his no-holds-barred rants about stupidity, Komodo dragons, getting old, nose snorkeling, and the end of humanity.

He even takes us behind the scenes of his process for creating Dilbert, showing a series of strips that he wasn't allowed to run in their original form. And he reveals why a syndicated comic strip can never show a police officer firing a gun but a donut that shoots bullets is totally fine.

Why has Adams decided to leave his comfort zone with this book? As he writes:

'Every time I try something different or unlikely, someone says the equivalent of Don't quit your day job.' When I venture into areas clearly outside of my expertise, I hear You're in way over your head!' and, lately, Stick to drawing comics!' But if I had listened to that sort of advice in the past, I never would have done anything interesting in my life.

'Was it smart to write this sort of book, or will it turn out to be another in a long list of my failures and embarrassments? Beats me. Thank you for giving it a chance.'