Maria Bamford is a bit of a lightning bug. Not that she’s small in any way. She has flown through decades of the dark, between her own struggles with mental illness, the rigors of Hollywood and whatever perils modern life throws her way. How she flies is hilarious, but how she lands is divine. As […]
Lee Keeler
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Comedian Brooks Wheelan on growing up in Iowa, road-tripping with Seth Meyers and the perils of Spider League: ‘This could lead to another suspension’
Brooks Wheelan has seen his share of spiders. That’s not his job, but it’s one of his calling cards. He’s also run circles around the Los Angeles comedy scene. Running is not his job, either. I mean, it kind of was, but not anymore. He’s a comedian. And since he was born in Cedar Rapids, grew up in Manchester and is an alum of the University of Iowa, he’s our comedian.
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Dante Powell hosts one of Iowa’s hottest comedy shows: ‘I’m not bootlicking, I’m not tip-toeing. I am who I am’
Dante Powell is on a roll. The Louisiana-born comic has clocked thousands of miles as both a truck driver and a comedian. Powell has called Des Moines his home for over a decade, headlining shows in the capital while hitting the road in major cities with Gary Gulman, Janelle James, Rory Scovel and other gods […]
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Tom Arnold on Trump tapes, his favorite Iowa stuff and the time he challenged his father to a fight
Tom Arnold is among the rarest of Iowans, having survived both the Razzie Awards and the kill floor at Hormel. There’s a generation of us who may have first met him via Roseanne, but the man has spent decades showing up in wonderful places: Austin Powers, True Lies, The Simpsons, The Best Damn Sports Show […]
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Born to draw Batman, Iowa City kid Norm Breyfogle sketched his way into pop culture history
From the shadows, Iowa City has played a quiet role in the mythology of the Batman, all thanks to the co-creations of Norm Breyfogle. When we saw Ratcatcher save the day in James Gunn’s version of The Suicide Squad? That character came from an IC kid. Any time Jeremiah Arkham showed up in a show, […]
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Review: Ever dreamed of hiding in a store overnight? Documentary ‘Secret Mall Apartment’ makes space for the anarchist in all of us
I can’t speak for everyone, but if teenage me found out that there was a secret Playstation clubhouse in my local mall, with an access panel hidden over a toilet, I would have gone through the looking glass in a heartbeat. This is a proposition that 2024 documentary Secret Mall Apartment presents, with Providence, Rhode […]
