Overpriced two-drink minimums and potato skins, bad Clinton jokes on late night these used to be the hallmarks of comedy, an art relegated to the controlled environs of comedy clubs and network TV. Fortunately, in the late 90s, a daring breed of comedians began rejecting the status quo altogether and, by taking cues from the indie-music world, started reviving comedy as a savvy and groundbreaking art form. Mock Stars delves headfirst into this revolutionary scene, tracing the evolution of indie comedy as part of the underground music circuit and into mainstream America. Through candid interviews with the major players, including David Cross, Patton Oswalt, Neil Hamburger, Maria Bamford, Fred Armisen, Aziz Ansari, Jon Wurster, Aimee Mann, and dozens of others, Wenzel reveals how comedy is becoming relevant and dangerously funny again.
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"...charts the evolution from the traditional send-ups of the '70s-'80s to deadpan, anti-punch lines of the '90s." --The Onion, November 13, 2008
It's not a pleasant thought, but we have to ask ourselves: Where would we be without indie comedy? Shudder to think of a world without smart, funny gals in horn-rimmed glasses. And no Janeane Garofalo! Stop it! Then again, we would never have had to type "Neil Hamburger." John Wenzel's given the topic a lot of thought and has written a dissertation ... I mean a book, called Mock Stars: Indie Comedy and the Dangerously Funny. --LA Weekly, February 2009
"...'Mock Stars' is a very entertaining, very readable guide to the new world of comedy, full of names to search out on YouTube and dedicated comedy Web sites. Wenzel had a lot of threads to gather together, and he does an admirable job of weaving them all into the story of intelligent, dedicated comics striving to evolve their art form. --Daily Camera, February 2009
"Mock Stars: Indie Comedy & the Dangerously Funny" by John Wenzel... manages to be indispensable both as a chronicle of the continually developing "indie" comedy scene in New York, L.A. and online, and with profiles of some of its most notable performers. --Jester Journal, January 2009
It's not a pleasant thought, but we have to ask ourselves: Where would we be without indie comedy? Shudder to think of a world without smart, funny gals in horn-rimmed glasses. And no Janeane Garofalo! Stop it! Then again, we would never have had to type "Neil Hamburger." John Wenzel's given the topic a lot of thought and has written a dissertation ... I mean a book, called Mock Stars: Indie Comedy and the Dangerously Funny. --LA Weekly, February 2009
"...'Mock Stars' is a very entertaining, very readable guide to the new world of comedy, full of names to search out on YouTube and dedicated comedy Web sites. Wenzel had a lot of threads to gather together, and he does an admirable job of weaving them all into the story of intelligent, dedicated comics striving to evolve their art form. --Daily Camera, February 2009
"Mock Stars: Indie Comedy & the Dangerously Funny" by John Wenzel... manages to be indispensable both as a chronicle of the continually developing "indie" comedy scene in New York, L.A. and online, and with profiles of some of its most notable performers. --Jester Journal, January 2009
About the Author
John Wenzel first got the indie-comedy bug watching HBO s Mr. Show, a sketch comedy program with which he s still obsessed. He currently writes about music, comedy, and new media for The Denver Post and has written for websites and magazines such as Rockpile and Shredding Paper. He recently won a Best Feature Writing award from the Denver Press Club/Newspaper Guild and writes a random-culture blog at GetRealDenver.com. Wenzel lives in Denver s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
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More About the Author
John Wenzel first got the indie-comedy bug watching HBO's Mr. Show, a sketch comedy program with which he's still obsessed. He currently writes about music, comedy, and new media for The Denver Post and has written for websites and magazines such as Rockpile and Shredding Paper. He recently won a Best Feature Writing award from the Denver Press Club/Newspaper Guild. Wenzel lives in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By E. Gardner
Format:Paperback
I was really looking forward to this book. Key word was. I normally wait to buy books until they are under $5.00 used, but when I saw this book I made an exception. I love stand up comedy, so much so that I wish there was some way to better articulate it to you. I SIMPLY LOVE IT- There, I resorted to all-caps. I own all of Patton Oswalt's CDs, same for David Cross. I even have multiple bootlegs for both. I bought Live in Nerd Rage and own every thing Zach Galifianakis has ever done. I own every Comedians of Comedy thing produced. So when I saw that a book was being made about the very thing that I love I bought it instantly.
With all of this in mind, here I am with $12 less in my pocket and disappointed. One of the old adages of writing is to show the audience, not tell it. The author should take this in mind. The book is 300 some odd pages of him telling us how funny, interesting and creative the people involved are, and then retelling their standup bits and sketch ideas. Here's a tip, instead of telling us (mostly in his old words) about a certain sketch or routine, show us how it came about. He brings up Patton's disappointment with MadTV, but then tells us that it wasn't the producers who were to blame but rather the network for cutting down sketch ideas. What were these sketch ideas? I feel that if you decide to write a book about someone and they felt creatively hampered; why not tell what they wanted to do differently then the network? A sketch idea that got cut would have been far more interesting then simply reciting his IMDB profile over 5 pages (which the author routinely does.)
Instead of simply telling us that Patton Oswalt found a like minded person in David Cross, show us why they are like minded. There has to be some interesting story about when they both realized that they could form a bond. The author obviously went through intensive interviews with the comedians (how else would anyone know who the head of a comedy labels inspiration and mentor was) he should have told stories about the behind the scenes stuff. I'm pretty sure that at one time most of the comedians were roommates, why not tell stories about that experience? Almost anything would have been better then simply the author retelling his favorite routines.
I guess I am just disappointed that a book that should have been a behind the scenes look at an upcoming art scene seemed like it was simply a generic and bloated college newspaper piece, and a poorly written one at that. A good 1/3 of this book is simply worthless information that seems to be written only for the author's ego.
With all of this in mind, here I am with $12 less in my pocket and disappointed. One of the old adages of writing is to show the audience, not tell it. The author should take this in mind. The book is 300 some odd pages of him telling us how funny, interesting and creative the people involved are, and then retelling their standup bits and sketch ideas. Here's a tip, instead of telling us (mostly in his old words) about a certain sketch or routine, show us how it came about. He brings up Patton's disappointment with MadTV, but then tells us that it wasn't the producers who were to blame but rather the network for cutting down sketch ideas. What were these sketch ideas? I feel that if you decide to write a book about someone and they felt creatively hampered; why not tell what they wanted to do differently then the network? A sketch idea that got cut would have been far more interesting then simply reciting his IMDB profile over 5 pages (which the author routinely does.)
Instead of simply telling us that Patton Oswalt found a like minded person in David Cross, show us why they are like minded. There has to be some interesting story about when they both realized that they could form a bond. The author obviously went through intensive interviews with the comedians (how else would anyone know who the head of a comedy labels inspiration and mentor was) he should have told stories about the behind the scenes stuff. I'm pretty sure that at one time most of the comedians were roommates, why not tell stories about that experience? Almost anything would have been better then simply the author retelling his favorite routines.
I guess I am just disappointed that a book that should have been a behind the scenes look at an upcoming art scene seemed like it was simply a generic and bloated college newspaper piece, and a poorly written one at that. A good 1/3 of this book is simply worthless information that seems to be written only for the author's ego.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had the pleasure of reading of this book two years ago and over the Christmas holiday I picked it up again. If you are a comedy aficionado, sit back, pour a glass of wine or your favorite beverage and enjoy! First you get the set-up...What the hell is Indie Comedy? Then you step into a unique journey of a bit of history, evolution of comedy, today's perspective and a series of interviews that the author characterizes as the intelligent comedians of the day. This author, John Wenzel, gives you a view of his personal interviews that allow you to experience your favorite comedians from a fresh perspective. He brings you along on the interview as if you are standing behind the curtain with a great eavesdropping seat. I really enjoyed the description of the interview venues which add to the joy of the read. A couple that come to mind immediately are the Crackle Barrel interview with David Cross and the LA coffee shop with Patton Oswalt. This writer is edgy, cynical, funny and is just as intelligent as the comedians he chose to feature. So, if you still have the stub of your first comedy ticket or you're a pop culture student or you would just enjoy a unique perspective on comedy this is a MUST read for you!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a person who loves indie-comedy but is no sweaty palmed indie comedy nerd I really loved this book. I would have never discovered the universe of indie comedy without this book. Without mock stars I would have never known bill hicks! I was truly ignorant. This is a concise book of the recent history of indie comedy and if indie comics tickle your funny bone consider this to be your swan dive into the depraved, beer-soaked gutter of indie comedy.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Too geeky for non-geeks
Nice to see someone cover contemporary comics! However, comedy geeks won't really learn anything new, and it's too geeky for the non-geeks. But still an enjoyable read.
Published on August 9, 2009 by Phillip Schwarzmann
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great primer for comedy fans
I was only familiar with about half of the comedians in this book (at least the ones that have been in movies and on TV, like David Cross, Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, etc. Read more
Published on March 26, 2009 by Marta C.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Chronicle of 'independent' comedy scattershot, but with a few insights
New chronicle of 'independent' comedy operates with a scattershot critical eye, but does bring out a few useful insights.
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Published on December 22, 2008 by Michael Shashoua
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