Comics tend to be walking exceptions to any number of societal rules. And within industry generalizations, the true individuals are even fewer and further between. Take Tom Rhodes, for example. He never attended college, yet he’s a better-read and more independent thinker than any of the political blowhards polluting television with their “expertise.” Though he’s traveled (and lived) around the world, his flair for detailed analysis of societal intricacies is unparalleled. Innumerable specials, a self-titled sitcom stateside and a smash-success run with The Kevin Masters Show—the Letterman of Amsterdam—all rest under his metaphoric belt, and he’s still very much a man of the people. A little reminiscent of Bill Hicks, a bit like Mitch Hedberg and a whole lot of underrated, Rhodes tapes a second Comedy Central Presents half-hour immediately after his week-long Vegas stint ... so though he’s perpetually sharp, you’d be hard-pressed to find him more on top of his game.

Tom Rhodes, August 18-24, 8 and 10:30 p.m., $22. The Comedy Stop at the Tropicana, 739-2714.