Jokes
The Expectation Gap: Why a Joke Needs a Clear Setup
A clear joke setup points readers toward one likely meaning, giving the punchline room to redirect it without a long…
The reading room
All pieces
Explore Urban Comedy Review's pieces on joke construction, comic characters, scenes, formats and performance.
Characters
The Straight Character and the Comic Foil
The straight character and comic foil create different kinds of friction; shape their competing aims to give a comic…
Scenes
From Mix-Up to Exit: Building a Sketch with Escalation
Sketch escalation turns one mix-up into a comic arc, helping each beat change the characters’ choices and giving the…
Formats
From Anecdote to Comic Essay: What Changes on the Page
See how a comic essay turns a personal incident into a shaped argument, with a worked example to help you choose…
Performance
A Pause Is Not Empty: Reading Timing in a Comic Exchange
Reading timing in a comic exchange shows how a pause redirects attention, sharpens a reaction, and changes the weight…
Our point of view
A laugh has a working shape.
Urban Comedy Review looks at the choices beneath comic effect: what a line sets up, what a character misses and when a scene changes direction.