In the vein of contemporaries like Zach Galifianakis and Bo Burnham but with a style all his own, comedian Demetri Martin stretches the boundaries of the standup form into something resembling performance art. Incorporating musical instruments, video, and props including jumbo sketch-pad drawings into his jokes, he developed both his unorthodox approach and wide-eyed, deadpan delivery during the late '90s and early 2000s. Martin soon expanded his fan base on Comedy Central, first as a giddily clueless reporter on The Daily Show, then with his own series, Important Things with Demetri Martin (2009-2010). He topped the Billboard comedy chart for the first time with his third comedy album, 2012's Standup Comedian. ~ Marcy Donelson