Comedy Central Presents: Mike Vecchione

Mike Vecchione has a very specific look. He knows he resembles an off-duty cop, or as he puts it, a volunteer firefighter who was ripped off by an online private detective school. He uses that stoic authority to sell absurd premises. His delivery is steady and deadpan, refusing to crack a smile even while describing high school wrestling as an activity that looks like two sex offenders trying to settle a bet.

The 21-minute set aired in March 2011 as part of the fifteenth season of Comedy Central Presents. Vecchione, a former special education teacher working the New York club circuit, blends his structured joke writing with mild hostility toward the general public. He covers the nuances of counseling gang members, the exact way to exit any conversation, and his intense offense at a dollar store cashier examining his cash with the scrutiny of Eliot Ness.