Irony - Isnt That Like Tinny and Bronzy?

Among the more idiotic things I've been told by editors over the years is that "crime fiction readers are impatient with irony". And of course I hear superior Brits talk all the time about how Americans don't understand sarcasm and/or irony. What about Jon Stewart you'll ask and be told that Jon Stewart represents New York not America or some such nonsense which is then followed by a long rant about The Office and the genius of Ricky Gervais. But when you read the Amazon customer reviews for the JL421 Land Cruiser/Tank (this year's howling wolf t shirt) you see that these customer reviews come from all over the US not just New York or LA - to my mind this is proof that we all pretty much have the same sense of humor and that irony and sarcasm work everywhere that Mr Bean is not popular.