HULK vs CAPTAIN AMERICA ( and he smashes Rick Jones)

Possibly the best character to ever come out of the MARVEL comix pantheon is The Incredible Hulk. Some may disagree, but that's only because they're wrong.
Based on the concept of SUPERMAN meets JEKYLL & HYDE, he's not only the strongest Marvel hero, he's also the most unpredictable.
Ya don't believe me? Check out this sequence of rampaging instability.
by Jim Steranko
from MARVEL SUPER ACTION #12, February 1979









pay attention: it's the (rarely seen) orange Hulk





Okay, so I admit that wasn't such a great fight sequence; basically, Hulk would've gotten in one good hit with that chunk of rubble if it weren't for Cap's shield. Cap at least landed a solid kick in the face. But at least that little punk Rick Jones got knocked the funk out.
I'd have to say it's a tie between Snapper Carr and Rick Jones for the title of MOST USELESS MEMBER OF A SUPERHERO TEAM EVER.
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Heartstrings

Here's one of those weird little one-off stories that turn up from time to time. It's not as if the PATSY WALKER series had any shortage of extra characters that they could've used for a filler story, but for some reason they used this story to fill up space here. It's definitely interesting in it's own right, but
I'm at a loss to figure out why it even exists.
Maybe one of you guys might know a little trivia behind it.

by Al Hartley
from PATSY WALKER #72, September 1957





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The Man In Black

Johnny Cash is one of my favorite celebrities of all time. During the course of his career he went from singer to entertainer to actor, then spent several years in relative seclusion until Rick Rubin brought him out of semi-retirement. If nothing else, he at least got the chance to go out at the top of his game.
As you'll see in this story, Mr. Cash was not always a saint, but he always had faith in his God despite his own failings. This is definitely one of the reasons I respect him so much; it's hard enough to actually be honest with yourself- even harder to maintain honesty with the Lord.
On a more personal side note, I lived in Nashville for several years and not a single one of the old-timers ever said a bad word against Johnny Cash. Everyone who met him had nothing but respect for the man. I've lived in Los Angeles, too, and I know that the majority of celebrities are jerks. Despite all the mistakes he made, at least Johnny stayed "real".


by Billy Zeoli and Al Hartley
from HELLO, I'M JOHNNY CASH (oneshot), 1976




















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♥
Johnny and Oscar The Grouch on Sesame Street HERE
Johnny and Satchmo, from The Johnny Cash Show HERE
♦

Some of the younger kids think it's just "cool" to wear black clothes and be all emo or goth or whatever.... well, back in the day, wearing all black used to mean something. Take a lesson, kids, this is what the black is all about:

THE MAN IN BLACK
© J.R. Cash 1971

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.
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DO THE BARTMAN!

While The Simpsons usually spoof TV and movies on their show, the comic series tends to spoof it's own medium. Take this tale for example. It does a good job of parodying the established conventions of both Marvel and DC, concerning crossovers and alternate realities, while still staying true to the spirit of the Simpsons series. Even if you don't get a lot of the inside jokes, it's easily accessible to casual readers.
If you're not a steady reader of any Bongo titles, I'd highly recommend that you try out a few issues here and there. It's always a good idea to just relax and have a laugh, right?

by Chuck Dixon, Ty Templeton, and Andrew Pepoy
from SIMPSONS SUPER SPECTACULAR #1, 2005













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