Lewis Black is pissed off. He constantly looks as though he’s a step away from a heart attack, or better yet, a stroke. He’s a friendly curmudgeon — gruff, shaky, sometimes dishevelled. He rants like there’s an ulcer screaming from the core of his being, yelling about the stupidity of the world — mostly the political world — around him, around us. He is a constant critic of life in the United States, with all its inherent contradictions, foibles and foolishness. And all that is a good thing.

Black, perhaps best known for his finger-wagging segment Back in Black on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, makes his living as an angry man, but it wasn’t always this way. Black is a Yale man. And a drama geek to boot — a playwright, even for children’s plays, and author. He didn’t discover his funny angry side for a long time.

“It took me only, like, 20 years to figure that out,” he says from his Manhattan home. “Actually, what happened was a friend of mine, a comic I know named Dan Ballard, said one night: ‘You’re angry and you’re not yelling. I’m not even angry and I’m yelling onstage.’”

Black decided to give it a whirl, and that was that. The mild-mannered-theatre-man-turned-standup comedian found his voice.

His material revolves around what is bothering him. And he readily gets hot and bothered. These days there’s plenty of fodder, especially with the economic meltdown in full swing south of the border. “The people that got us into this, and that’s worldwide, are the same people involved in trying to get us out,” he says, working up a solid head of steam. He blames political parties, economists and the damned media — a popular target on The Daily Show.

“Here, it’s like you can’t watch TV because you would think you’re on a bread line, a soup line or something. Oh we’re on the shitter now! They just won’t shut up. Shut up for five minutes!” he hollers. “I’m surprised that they haven’t been screaming that fucking is down 20 per cent.”

Starting his Dual Citizenship Tour in Ottawa on April 21, and then driving across Canada from Toronto to Vancouver on a tour bus, he performs in Calgary May 12. Criss-crossing the country, he’s eager to escape the blah-blah-blah issues of the American empire and to familiarize himself with the socialist hordes (that’s us) in the North. Although he doesn’t keep close track of our own socio-political failings, he’s not without praise and admonition for Canucks.

“I’ve been saying it in my act and I’ll repeat it all through Canada. You’re 80 per cent of the U.S. dollar? Are you kidding me? What is the matter with you people!? Our dollar is worth seven cents. You guys are worth four and a half. Don’t be stupid. If I were in Canada I’d say ‘You want one of our dollars. It’s a dollar fucker or go home.’”

In addition to all the touring, the playwrighting, the television appearances and HBO and Comedy Central specials, Black still finds time to pen books. His latest, Me of Little Faith, tackles the thorny issue of religion, prickly because America is a land of pious zealots, with some distinctly crazy elements. Despite the huge potential for fanatics taking offence to his less-than-courteous treatment of their holier than thou religion, Black hasn’t experienced any problems. No attacks — so far.

“My mother said, when she read it, that I was screwed,” he says. “She basically said ‘You’re in trouble,’ and I really didn’t get a big backlash. It probably would have helped book sales.”

The muted response is probably due to the nature of the book. “Partly because the book was about my take, it was all about personal experiences as opposed to a giant condemnation,” he says, adding, “And some of the things they can’t refute, these idiots.” He misses the days of Jimmy Swaggart and Tammy Faye, the height of crazed U.S. televangelism. “Now, these idiots are smart enough to fly under the radar,” he says.

Despite all the f-bombs littered throughout his performances and heavily used in interviews, Black is more lovable troublemaker than the cantankerous guy you’re afraid of introducing to friends. And when you get him talking about theatre and some plays he’s written (over 40 in all), the profanity and the comedic bile fade.

“I’m working on another play now with a friend of mine,” he says, his characteristically rough voice losing some edge. He says that fans of his comedy won’t recognize him in the final product. “It’s a romantic comedy that’s a farce, and you just go ‘Really? What the hell was he on?’”

Though his soon-to-be-released opus touches the heart, he doesn’t gush over the new commander-in-chief, as do most other left-leaning U.S. personalities. Black says at least Obama is communicating with people, which is refreshing, but he warns you can’t really win with any political overlord. “The only difference is the Republicans bark while they’re fucking ya, and the Democrats are soothing.” And he’s not sure which is worse.

The biggest problem for Black, now that the master orator of morons is out of the Oval Office, is how to begin his act. When he did his Vancouver and Toronto gigs in past years, he had plenty of ammo. “The tough thing for me, as a comic, I spent eight years apologizing in Canada. I don’t know where to start my act now. Oh look, we’re smart again, woo hoo.”