Rob Delaney: Still very funny after 140 characters, telling it like it is in Vice magazine

It's no secret that I'm a fan of comedian Rob Delaney on Twitter. I've said so on Twitter. But get to know @RobDelaney past the 140-character limit, and you'll find that he's not exactly the profane absurdist he is there, but in fact, so much more. He's profoundly real.

Here's what Delaney had to say in writing a piece about comedy and comedians for Vice Magazine's "comedy" issue (as referenced in earlier posts today):

When a magazine does a “comedy issue” it’s usually just a few pages of pictures of famous comedians (or more likely comic actors, who aren’t really “comedians” at all) wearing expensive clothes in a silly photo shoot that, despite its purported aims, winds up being the opposite of funny. I’d like to offer a tiny antidote to those offensive shit rags.

Delaney then goes on to get real. He talks about drugs and alcohol, depression and suicide, pills and therapy, and what it all means, not just for all comedians, but for him. And it's all worth reading. Read it! Rob Delaney on "Comedy" in Vice.

In addition to the lengthy interviews with Buck Henry and Robert Smigel, there's a more playful Q&A with Chelsea Peretti, Paul Rust's letter to Prince, a book review for sale, and a screenplay course to follow from Bob Odenkirk, behind-the-scenes with Johnny Knoxville, and a lengthy piece on the North Carolina comedy scene that's behind Eastbound and Down. Does that make Vice's "comedy issue" different from the rest? I don't know, but having Delaney's essay is enough for me to be sold on it.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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