These can be trying times for comedians. Every day seems to bring with it new difficulties and fresh absurdities — take, as this week's latest example, the fact that by Tuesday night no winner had yet been named in the previous day's Iowa Democratic caucus.

Patton Oswalt, the Emmy- and Grammy-winning comedian and actor, is well-aware of the awkward position such a climate puts members of his profession in.

"That makes it kind of challenging for a comedian," Oswalt said. "You're like, 'How do I out-absurd and out-funny the news?' But I think if you're creative enough, you can even have fun with the fact that everything is so absurd and make that the joke, that it's just going to keep topping itself.

"So in a way, you have free reign to kind of go as wild as you want to because no matter how far out you go on on a limb for all you and the audience know the next day that'll become the norm."

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Oswalt, who released the stand-up special "Annihiliation" via Netflix in 2017, taped a new hour of material in September that he said is set to be released in May.

He performs at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood on Friday, Feb. 7, and the Music Box at the Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa in Atlantic City on Saturday, Feb. 8.

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Oswalt was part of the terrific ensemble for Netflix's animated series "BoJack Horseman," which concluded a six-season run in January. Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the series walked the line between comedy, drama and tragedy as it used the world of show business to unflinchingly examine human failings.

There were a dozen or so characters in the world of "BoJack" played by Oswalt, most memorably Pinky Penguin, the publishing and television executive perpetually on the precipice of ruin.

"It was amazing to get to play so many characters that populated that universe and to have them trust me with that, to play just a disparate amount of voices and personalities," Oswalt said. "And then when you look at the overall (picture of) what they managed to do with that show — all the takes they did on depression in the modern age, narcissism in the modern age, and the pitfalls of fame and emptiness but still made it so funny — it was just fascinating."

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After appearing on the Marvel Cinematic Universe-adjacent television series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Oswalt returns to the Marvel world for the Hulu animated series "M.O.D.O.K.," Deadline confirmed last month.

Oswalt, who also serves as executive producer, will star as the titular entity also known as the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing.

"I am so excited because I'm one of those deep-cut Marvel fans where they really let us dig into the obscure toy box on this show," Oswalt said. "And as much as we were trying to be clever with the stuff that we were pulling out, I got to work with a writer named Jordan Blum who really humanized and brought such an emotional dimension to what could just be Easter eggs — but it made it so much better having him on board."

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Oswalt's a prolific voice actor, appearing in everything from Disney and Pixar's Oscar-winning "Ratatouille" (2007) and the hit TV series "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" to Boots Riley's provocative satire "Sorry to Bother You" (2018) and Syfy's adults-only graphic novel adaptation series "Happy!"

"You really have to approach each thing as its own world, try to suss out what the tone and what the objectives are of the creators and really, really just try to serve that rather than go, 'Well, what's a goofy voice I can do here?' " Oswalt said of his voice work. "Sometimes it doesn't require a goofy voice, sometimes it requires different direction. So I just try to look at each thing as its own world that I'm entering and I want to serve it as best I can."

Patton Oswalt

When: 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7

Where: Bergen Performing Arts Center, 30 North Van Brunt St., Englewood

Tickets: $63 to $83

Info: 201-227-1030 or www.bergenpac.org

and

When: 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8

Where: The Music Box at the Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City

Tickets: $45 to $55

Info: 609-317-1000 or www.theborgata.com