Dilbert creator Scott Adams wants you to try to out-funny him. No, seriously.
New features added recently to the online home of the comic allow fans to rewrite the final frame of each daily strip about the harried engineer. In short, you can provide the punch line.
"With volume, it's a virtual guarantee that the best reader punch lines will be better than my original," said Adams in an e-mail exchange Tuesday. "That's going to hurt. I hope it doesn't happen with every strip."
Adams said the new additions to the site are already "a big hit," and the best ones haven't even rolled out yet: Starting in May, fans will be able to rejigger the entire strip with their own dysfunctional office humor. Users will also be able to experiment, exquisite corpse-style, by authoring a single frame and then opening their comic for anyone to pick up the digital pen.
"Readers were already modifying Dilbert comics and e-mailing them to friends," said Adams. "We're embracing the reality of the internet and trying to make it easier."
Animated Dilbert comics are coming soon to a computer screen near you, too: Adams and the syndication service that carries the strip have plans to begin making cartoons available on YouTube.
But will they take off? Adams thinks so. "People can't resist showcasing their wit," he said. "And all it takes is a few clicks for all of your friends to marvel at the brilliance of your modified Dilbert comic."
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