Wanda Sykes has comic gut instinct

During Wanda Sykes' recent stand-up comedy tour, she appeared with a partner -- Esther.
    
Esther, it turns out, is Wanda's gut.
     
But her protruding, uncontrollable tummy isn't the only target of Sykes' tart tongue. Known for launching verbal hand grenades at Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin during a White House Correspondents' Dinner, Sykes has other targets in her new HBO special, "I'ma Be Me." Among those targets: the media's fascination with bad news, the irony of electing a black president just as the country went broke, and those TV ads for, er, male sex problems.
     
"I'ma Be Me" airs at 11:35 p.m. Oct. 30 on HBO Comedy East. It's a prelude of sorts for even more Wanda. "The Wanda Sykes Show," the comedian's new talk/comedy show, debuts at 11 p.m. Nov. 7 on Fox.