Jim Gaffigan is pale. Really pale.

So pale, in fact, that the dude doesn't get the least bit offended when his pallor is called out as a major topic of conversation.

Truth is, the dry-humored comedian has actually made a pretty good living off of his complexion.

He named his successful Honolulu-bound nationwide comedy tour — in which he discusses, among other things, his history of whiteness — "Beyond the Pale." He's the co-creator/writer of the Emmy-nominated "Pale Force," an uber-hilarious series of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" animated shorts depicting Gaffigan and fellow partner in pale O'Brien as superheroes battling more-fortunately-pigmented villains with their blinding white skin.

(The Pale Force's good deeds are even guided by a Justice League of America-like Legion of Pale — a coterie of wisdom-dispensing famous pale folks that includes Larry Bird, Nicole Kidman, The White Stripes and the state of Utah.)

Gaffigan is also known for his sublime on-stage common-man discourses on everything from cake ("A true symbol of gluttony. If you eat a whole pizza, people are, like, 'Wow, you were hungry!' But if you eat a whole cake, they're, like, 'You got a problem') to Hot Pockets ("Was there some guy in a marketing meeting, like, 'How about we fill a Pop Tart with nasty meat? You cook it in a sleeve-thing.' ").

Naturally, food was where we began our chat about his comedy, last week, before touching on things pale.

You like food.

I love food. I love the lazy life. ... You're supposed to write about things you're totally passionate about. ... But I also want to find topics that are universal and also not necessarily beaten to death. ... (And) you can find some food topics that, hopefully, haven't been covered completely — like the Hot Pocket.

Any other foods currently fascinating you?

I've gotten really obsessed with bacon. ... Bacon is, in a lot of ways, a beautiful food. ... People's positive feelings about cake (are similar) to their feelings about bacon. I mean, obviously, there are some people that don't eat bacon. They're called weirdos. But bacon is also fascinating because it's very bad for you. You know it's bad when a healthier choice is a doughnut.

How was "Pale Force" born?

"Pale Force" was actually the idea of my brother-in-law, Paul Noth ... who's a cartoonist for The New Yorker. I had been on Conan a bunch of times. ... (Noth) did a mock-up of (it), I pitched it to (Conan) and six months later they gave us the money. ...

"Pale Force" is really interesting because whether you're the Irish-Catholic redhead or the Goth kid ... there's all these pale people (that) have an embarrassment about (being pale). It's like having something to identify with that's really (worth) exploring. I see these people at the shows and it's kind of funny.

Have any of them told you that you're a hero to them?

I wouldn't (say) that. But it's definitely one of those things where pale people — instead of being the one person that is really pale — (can find) some relief in knowing that there's other people that (also) have to put the hour of sunscreen on before they go to the beach.

The awkwardness of wearing shorts. For a pale person, it's not something you do with glee. It's something where you're, like, "There might be a comment on my legs. But it's hot!"

Have you ever gotten any reaction from the real-life famous folk in the animated Legion of Pale?

No. I have had people come up to me and say that they wanted to be in it. I ran into (former New York Giants quarterback) Phil Simms the day after the Super Bowl in the airport and he was, like, "You know, I should be in that 'Pale Force' thing." And then (actor) Michael Rappaport was, like, "Dude, you gotta have me in that 'Pale Force' thing.' "

Have you and Conan ever compared skin-care regimens?

Yeah! I mean, that was some of what, I think, inspired ("Pale Force"). ... Conan would introduce me as the second-palest guy and I would say, "No, I'm the palest!"

There is a bonding that kind of occurs, in a silly way, when I go on that show. We're both comedians. We're both from big Catholic families. And we're both pale.

So are you changing your skin-care regimen for the trip to Hawai'i? We're all tan here, you know.

I've already started putting on sunscreen. You know, people like being around the pale person because that makes them look tanner.

That's one of the reasons why people (should) go to the show. I do a meet-and-greet after every show. And they can get their picture taken with me and go, "Look at how tan I am!" ...

I (also) try to avoid looking in the refrigerator. I might get sunburned there.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.