The Dark Side of Stand-up Comedy, edited by Patrice A. Oppliger and Eric Shouse sets out to destabilize the sad-clown myth of stand-up comedians and ultimately succeeds. By the end of the volume's sixteen contributions (and four responses), the popular idea of comedy as essentially bound to a “troubled comedian” (6) is thoroughly dissected, torn apart, and put into perspective. In its first half, the book's essays interrogate the origin of dark topics—including mass death, childhood trauma and neglect, alcohol and food addiction, disability, sexual violence, and mental illness—in the material of well-known American comics, including George Carlin, Steve Martin, and Maria Bamford, and one Canadian comic, Mike Ward. Each contribution takes a distinct theoretical approach, but all of them interrogate the identity gap between comedians and their personae, decoupling comedy that makes light from dark human experiences.

The book's second half compiles contributions from amateur and aspiring comedians,...

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