How the Vest Was Won!

How the Vest Was Won is a comic story reprinted in Simpsons Comics Barn Burner.

Synopsis

For ratting out the school bullies' attempt to shoplift beer from the Kwik-E-Mart, Bart appears on a TV show and receives a bulletproof vest as a reward. The vest proves to be invaluable when the bullies vow revenge.

Plot

Bart appears on a show and gets a special bullet-proof vest for grassing up Nelson, Kearney, Jimbo and Dolph for stealing wax lips from the Kwik-E-Mart. The four tell Bart that they're going to kill him, but in the meanwhile, Bart wears his vest everywhere, and shows it off to the Springfield Elementary students. Eventually, Bart is in a face-off with the four, but Bart ends up saving Nelson by pushing him away from the falling, crumbly monorail track. Their pictures, along with their names (spelt incorrectly), appear in the Springfield Shopper.

Behind the Laughter

• The story's title is a pun on the film How the West Was Won, which spawned a TV series of the same title.