Dilbert cartoon first published on Sunday 30th December 2001

Dilbert//4642, first published 25 years ago on Sunday 30th December 2001

Tags

hand writing answer questions return calls i'll be away bad odor windy phantom monkeys duct tape

Official transcript

The Boss pops into Dilbert's cubicle and hands him a piece of paper. The Boss says, "Dilbert, take care of this. It's urgent."

Dilbert responds, "I can't read your handwriting. What does it say?"

The Boss responds, "I don't have time to answer your questions."

The Boss continues, "Don't try to call me. I don't return calls."

The Boss continues, "If you come to my office I'll be away."

Headline: And then, like a bad odor on a windy day, the phantom manager vanished."

Dilbert gives the note to Carol. She says, "I think it says, 'Floog smort olak munta hawthnort."

Dilbert asks, "What does it mean?"

Carol responds, "I think it involves monkeys and duct tape."

originally published on dilbert.com

Open source transcript

, TAKE CARE OF THIS.

IT'S URGENT.

I CAN'T READ YOUR HANDWRITING. WHAT DOES IT SAY?

I DON'T HAVE TIME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.

DON'T TRY TO CALL ME. I DON'T RETURN CALLS.

IF YOU COME TO MY OFFICE I'LL BE AWAY.

AND THEN, LIKE A BAD ODOR ON A WINDY DAY, THE PHANTOM MANAGER VANISHED.

I THINK IT SAYS, "FLOOG SMORT QLAK MUNTA HAWTHNORT." WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

I THINK IT INVOLVES MONKEYS AND DUCT TAPE.

collated from github.com/jvarn/dilbert-archive

AI Analysis

Comic Strip Title: "The Phantom Manager"

Summary:

• The comic strip follows Dilbert's day at work, where he is bombarded with absurd requests and interruptions.
• His boss, the Pointy-Haired Boss, demands that Dilbert read his handwriting, which is illegible, and then asks him to call him back because he doesn't want to answer questions.
• Dilbert's coworker, Alice, is also frustrated with the boss's antics and tries to help Dilbert by explaining that the boss is acting strangely.
• The comic strip ends with Dilbert's coworker, Wally, making a sarcastic comment about the boss's behavior, implying that he is not taking things seriously.

Key Themes:

• The absurdity of office politics and bureaucracy
• The frustration of dealing with incompetent or unresponsive managers
• The humor and satire that can be found in everyday work life.

generated by llama-3.2-11b-vision-instruct

Accompanying textual content, such as title, tags and transcripts, is shown here if we have it. Not every comic has all of these, and they seem to be a bit hit and miss even on the official website.