See also:
*10 Best Stand-Up Comedy Shows in Los Angeles
*12 Comedy Acts to Watch in 2013

Even as Scott Aukerman's Comedy Bang! Bang! continues to build momentum as an IFC talk/sketch series and Earwolf podcast, the earliest incarnation of the brand, a long-running live show originally named Comedy Death-Ray, ended its weekly run at UCB LA in late November. Most in the comedy community assumed the multimedia forerunner was simply shifting its focus (plans for a TV production and distribution company have since been announced), but the question remained: what show would assume the popular CBB's place on the Tuesday-night lineup?

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Mindy Tucker

James Adomian

On comedian James Adomian's debut album Low Hangin' Fruit, his celebrity impressions are so well-developed that it's sometimes hard to tell where they end and when his true voice begins. After honing his craft at Groundlings and the UCB Theater, the 32 year-old L.A. native has made his mark in recent years with regular appearances as Huell Howser and Jesse Ventura on the Comedy Bang Bang podcast and television show.

When I meet him outside the Downtown Independent after last month's alternative comedy festival Riot Fest, he's wiping chocolate off his face and periodically clearing his throat from hosting a talk show as the gravely voiced former Governor of Minnesota. Despite his exaggerated impression of the politician turned conspiracy-chaser, Adomian admits he has a soft spot for Ventura. "I plan to write in Jesse Ventura if I vote. He's the kind of leader that people should have, someone who is at least going to tell the truth," he explains.

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IFC TV

Scott Aukerman

See also:
*Scott Aukerman Asks: Can an Intelligent Person Can Like Phish?
*10 Comedy Acts to Watch in 2012

While most fans know Scott Aukerman's Comedy Bang! Bang! from his loopily inspired weekly podcast or aggressively absurd IFC faux-talk show, the franchise formerly known as Comedy Death Ray actually got its start as a showcase at M Bar back in 2002 (it now sells out in minutes each month at UCB).

So it makes sense Aukerman's Comedy Bang! Bang! would return to its roots with a 12-date tour across the country. We spoke to the West Coast native about his plans for touring, what to expect when Comedy Bang! Bang!'s show rolls through Los Angeles, and how to win a game of Would You Rather.

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Dana Gould

Comic and prolific writer Dana Gould has seemingly done all that Hollywood has to offer: performing on everything from Kimmel and Conan to HBO, Comedy Central, MADtv and The Daily Show; acting roles stretching back to The Ben Stiller Show, The Nanny, Roseanne, Ellen, Seinfeld and The King of Queens; not to mention scripting, producing and helping voice The Simpsons for seven years and appearing as himself in an episode of Family Guy. No less a figurehead than Patton Oswalt even named Gould the founder of alt-comedy on the Comedians of Comedy Live at the Troubadour DVD.

Between frequent live gigs Gould also has jumped into the podcast arena with his retro-radio The Dana Gould Hour and developed a half-hour comedy for FX, co-starring and co-exec produced by Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl. Like their creator, both projects are shaping up to emphasize the more astute, quirky, slightly neurotic and relentlessly eclectic side of the comedy spectrum.

We talked with Gould about these latest projects:

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photobucket (bella_13_SPMS)

So far, no signs of the apocalypse for the startup-company-for-startups kickstarter.com, a website successfully proving that frugal, unemployed Americans do care about things enough to donate a dollar to a dreamer.

February brought about two million-dollar projects that amazingly surpassed their fundraising goals, and of course about a million projects that weren't worth two dollars.

Surfing though the ideas of its hopefuls, we found a few Los Angeles-based, Los Angeles-bettered projects worth looking into your Google wallet for, in no particular order:

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Eric Andrè

They've got the talent, the credits and the buzz, and all are poised to make the leap to the comedic Big Leagues in 2012. Here are the individuals, groups and projects that will have Los Angeles talking -- and more important, laughing -- next year. Some are our picks, but some are selections from those in the know.

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Doug Sadler

Host Howard Kremer, guest Zach Galifianakis and co-host Kulap Vilaysack fart up, err chart up the room on the podcast Who Charted?

As the Buggles once forecasted in their 1980s pop single: "Video Killed the Radio Star." Today, it's more accurate to say that the podcast resurrected the radio star, or more specifically, the comedian.

Over the last three years, podcasts have become a platform for comedic artists to extend their brand and service fans in the boonies. But now they're looking like a calling card for bigger projects.

On Sunday at 11 a.m., KCRW began airing 10 weekly episodes of WTF With Marc Maron, a podcast numbering 200 episodes that has been a therapy chair for funny people. We take a look at the top 10 comedy podcasts, many of which are fresh, some of which are old shoes.

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Dianne Garcia

Karen Gillan and Matt Smith

See more photos in "San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Preview Night," "San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Day One," "San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Day Two."

You will all have to forgive me for breaking the fourth wall of blogger "voice" for this one. The third person just won't cut it.

I'm a geek. A geek who was practically weaned on the likes of Doctor Who and Star Trek. And tonight, at the Nerdist Podcast live at 4th & B in the heart of San Diego, on the third night of Comic-Con 2011, The Doctor, his companion Amy Pond, and Wesley Crusher were all together on stage. (Highlight of the night #1 - Karen Gillan has a big ol' squee about meeting Data from Star Trek earlier. Wil Wheaton, who admitted to a massive crush on the lovely redhead, as calmly as possible notes that... dude. He totally knows Data.)

Dianne Garcia

Gillan and Smith deep in the podcastin' zone with Wil Wheaton and Chris Hardwick

And then as though it couldn't possibly plunge deeper into nerdvana, we got to witness the moment at which it dawned on The Doctor and Amy that in a former life, Wesley Crusher was Gordie in Stand By Me. (Highlight of the night #2 - Matt Smith: "Oh my god, I love that movie. The leeches!")

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