Mad #204 (Albert Feldstein) - Incredible Bulk Issue - January 1979

Writer Tom Koch and artist Angelo Torres had loads of fun with the rather lame television show that was distilled from the Marvel character, The Hulk.  The show (1978-1982) starring Bill Bixby (1934-1993) as "before" and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno as "after" was ripe for parody.  Torres paid tribute to the comics with ample cameos including Batman, Robin, Andy Capp & Flo, Zonker Harris & B.D., Wonder Woman, Tarzan, Zap, Hagar, Howard the Duck, Spiderman, Superman, the Penguin, Miss Piggy, the Submariner, Charlie Brown, Linus Van Pelt and Snoopy.  In addition, Alexander Solzhenitsyn appeared as a protester.  The evil stepmother wears a skull-and-crossbones on her dress and displays a shrunken head in her living room.  The excellent writing of Mr. Koch brings back the memories of the Harvey Kurtzman comics where artists Will Elder and Wally Wood were filling each panel with sight gags.  For me, Mad is at its best when parodying the comics that fed the early issues. [JAM 9/27/2010]

Shark has a bandage (page 9); Toothpaste ingredient is sulfuric acid (page 14); personalized handcuff names are Chuck, H.R. (Bob), Jeb, John E., John M., Milhous and Spiro (page 38)

Departments:
Playing It For Shark Value Again - Jaw'd Too
Yule Be Sorry! - Christmas Is ...
Device, Man, Cometh - New-Improved Products That Really Are New And Improved
Don Martin - Early One Morning Down in South America; One Hot Afternoon in the American Desert; One Evening in an Amsterdam Bus Terminal
Dead Ended Street - The Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Gift Rap - If Someone Today Received Those Gifts on the Twelve Days of Christmas
Two's Company, We's a Crowd - Clones of the Future; Clones of the Past
Fun in Games - Novelty Items for Practical-Joker Jocks
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Boo-Boos
Novel-Tease - A Preview of This Year's "Gimmick" Christmas Gifts
Volume Sales Pitch - If Libraries Sold Advertising Space
Green with Ennui - The Incredible Bulk

Fold-In - Neutron Bomb