Why Jewish Comics are Obsessed with Suffering, Death

As Rachel Bloom, comic and erstwhile star of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, danced onto stage in her light-up sneakers, I took a bite of licorice, a swig of root beer, and a deep breath. I've been a fan of Bloom's for a while now; I even wrote an article on how the humor of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend relates to the Jewishness of the Gospel of Mark. It was an odd pairing, I know, but as a Jewish scholar of biblical studies and contemporary critical theory (e.g., humor theory), it was in my wheelhouse.