#Bob Toomey

[nerds-yearbook]

Arkkis Chummuck and Malet Dasim were introduced along with the locations sector 3014, Toomey VI, and Xanshi in Green Lantern vol 2 130#, July, 1980. They were created by Bob Toomey and Alex Saviuk. ("Sonar's Sonic-Atomic Attack", "The Trial of Arkkis Chummuck: Indictment", DC Comic, Event)

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BHOC: SUPERMAN FAMILY #192

I remember that I passed up this issue of SUPERMAN FAMILY for weeks after it first came out, and for the most minor of reasons. I was a fan of the New Doom patrol, who were guest-starring in the Supergirl story across these three issues. But in this middle one, the chapter is only a short 10 pages in length, and the Doom patrol only show up for half a page. I saw that and I felt cheated by it,…

[ultrameganicolaokay]

Eerie #93 ‘Strangers in the Strangest Places! Part Two’, ‘Honor and Blood’, ‘Kingdom of Ash’, ‘The Einstein Factor’ and ‘The Slime Creature of Harlem Avenue’ (1978) by Bill DuBay, Abel Laxamana, Alfredo Alcala, Nicola Cuti, Leo Durañona, Bob Toomey, José Ortiz, Pepe Moreno, Alex Niño and more. Edited by Louise Simonson. Cover by Don Maitz.

[milliondollarbaby87]

The Big Sleep (1946) Review

When private investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by a general from a wealthy family to try and find out why his daughter Carmen is being blackmailed and with the help of Vivian another of the generals daughters he is taken into a rather complex web of love triangles, murder, gambling and organised crime. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Continue reading Untitled

[ndfan3]

The Silent Suspect, The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #95 (June 1990)

Nancy travels to San Francisco to help boyfriend Ned Nickerson’s cousin, teenager Lisa Franklin, who has been accused of arson following the burning down her architect father’s most recent and prestigious project, Franklin Place. The police allege that Lisa’s motivation was to destroy her father’s reputation and company so that she could extract herself from the business. Understandably Nancy feels this is a bit of a stretch and readily agrees to take the case and heads to SF with Ned to attempt to track down and reveal the real arsonists and so clear Lisa’s name.

Lisa herself is not a particularly endearing character, being engaged in a fierce sibling rivalry with her older sister Laurel, frequently badmouthing her family and running away from home. Uncle Bob is no charmer either while Laurel feels put upon and ignored. The evidence against Lisa had certainly piled up - not only did she have no alibi for the night that Franklin Place burned down, but her bracelet was found at the scene and the night watchman claims he saw her running away from the fire. Nancy and Nick’s prime suspect is Lisa’s boyfriend Richard Bates who doesn’t help his cause when he runs away when the couple try to question him. In addition in turns out that Franklin Place was in danger of collapse thanks to Laurel’s design error, putting her in the frame along with Lisa and Richard.

Later Nancy is attacked in her room by a masked male figure demanding to know where “it” is. Breaking free, the girl detective raises the alarm and her attacker flees. The next morning, Laurel disappears so she and Ned head for China Town where her family thinks she will be. They draw a blank because Uncle Bob’s assistant, Christopher Toomey, misdirects the couple. This immediately raises Toomey to the status of chief suspect. Although the assistant has an alibi, Nancy, following discussion with a fireworks salesman in China Town, realises that the fire could have been started by a bomb with an hour long fuse. Toomey is also wearing make up which Nancy believes he applied to cover up the scratches the sleuth inflicted on his face when he attacked her. Nancy finds a tied up Laurel at the wharf and frees her, only to be pushed into the water by Toomey, who thus reveals himself as the villain. She is saved from freezing to death by Richard but finds the endangered Laurel has wandered off and has to find her again instead of being able to call the police as she planned. Nancy and Ned locate Laurel but she has been seized by Toomey. While Ned tries to talk the villain round, Nancy sneaks up behind Toomey and fairly easily subdues him. The pair then call the police to collect their prisoner. Toomey of course had planted the bracelet at the scene of the fire and his motive was resentment at his treatment by Uncle Bob. After the drama, the Franklin family reconcile.

This story is unique in that Nancy is teamed with Ned (who does very little) rather than Bess and George, and for once it is Nancy who is at the sharp end of the capture of the bad guy while Ned plays back up. This is probably one of the better tales from the later Mystery Stories and the sub plot of a dysfunctional family complicating Nancy’s investigation is a nice touch.

[beyondthespheres]

Cover von M. W. Kaluta

1st pg: Bob Toomey (W), Tom Sutton (P), Jerry Serpe (I), Christa Manner (L) Ein Stück Des Himmels; a bird, called "Brother Ugly", rises to f(l)ame and fortune by becoming a star after surviving a fire in a shed, literally a phenix.

2nd pg: Scott Edelman (W), José Luis García López (P), Jerry Serpe (I), Christa Manner (L) Der Ritter Im Goldenen Käfig; take note of the clever page composition.

3rd pg: Maxene Fabe & Ramona Fradon Braut Des Pharaos; Fraden's facial plays (are) in a league of their own.

[themfp1]

Dave McCormick Launches Senate Bid in Pennsylvania

By: Rebecca Downs Veteran and businessman Dave McCormick announced he is running against Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) in what looks to be one of many key races with a Senate map that looks favorable to Republicans. McCormick also ran last year to replace retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), but lost narrowly to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee. Oz ultimately lost to now Sen. John Fetterman…

[readingforsanity]

The Langoliers | Stephen King | Published 1990 | *SPOILERS*

N

Stephen King’s unforgettable novella - first included in his 1990, award-winning collection Four Past Midnight and made into a highly acclaimed miniseries - about a terrifying plane ride into a most unfriendly sky. 

On a cross-country, redeye flight from LA to Boston, ten passengers awaken in Bangor, Maine, to find that the crew and most of their fellow passengers have disappeared. The airport shows no signs of life. Yet they hear radio static in the distance. Craig Toomey, an irritable investment banker on the verge of a breakdown, believes it is The Langoliers, monsters he was afraid of as a child who attack those who waste time. It’s mystery author Bob Jenkins who first theorizes that they have flown through a time rip. Bob declares they have entered a place that forbids time travelers to observe or interfere with past events. It turns out that Craig is right, in a way. Two creatures, followed by hundreds more, emerge from the forest and head for the plane, consuming everything in their path. Can the survivors manage to fly the plane back to LA, back to the correct time, before the Langoliers succeed in their deadly mission to destroy the plane and the world? Dinah Bellman, the young blind girl whose aunt did not survive the time rip, has the greatest insight of all. 

A spine-tingling, propulsive novella, The Langoliers is a brilliant read from the masterful Stephen King. 

11 passengers are about to embark on an adventure that none of them asked for. 

Brian Engle, a pilot for the airline American Pride, has just landed a plane at LAX after a surprisingly dicey flight. Once safely on the ground, and in desperate need of sleep due to a headache, an executive of the airline appears and informs him that his ex-wife, Anne, has died in a fire back in Boston and that he must return at once. 

Brian, along with the other passengers aboard Flight 29, begin their ascent into the skies on a red eye flight across the country. Due to his headache, and feeling a bit overwhelmed over the news he just received, he dozes off. But, he is awakened later when a young girl, Dinah who is blind, awakes and finds the other passengers, including her Aunt Vicky, have disappeared. This causes her to raise the alarm. Brian, along with several other passengers, join her in the main cabin. There is Bob, a mystery author; Albert “Ace” Kaussner, on his way to study music; Bethany, being sent to Boston to stay with her aunt due to a drug addiction her mother can no longer handle; Nick Hopewell, a British man who is very imposing; Don Gaffney, an older gentleman; Rudy Warwick, whose hunger appears to be taking over his senses; Craig Toomy, a banking executive who was on his way to Boston for an incredibly important meeting; Laurel Stevenson, a young woman who was on her way to Boston to meet a man she corresponded with through personal ads; a man who is still fast asleep at the back of the plane, and of course, Captain Engle. 

They are unsure as to what happened, but they are aware that they’re entirely alone - the other passengers and crew of the flight have seemingly disappeared. Luckily for them, Brian just happened to be on board the flight for the airline he works for. But, this very fact sends ripples of fear throughout many of them, as they think this is some sort of experiment and that Brian is in on it. 

Their nerves get the better of them, but Brian makes the decision to instead send the plane to Bangor, Maine instead of their intended destination. He has tried to raise the alarm to ground control but cannot reach anyone. This greatly upsets Mr. Toomy, who was deadset on being on time to his appointment in Boston. But, when he realizes that nobody is going to listen to him, he takes to ripping up an onboard magazine into strips, much like he used to do as a child when his parents were being particularly abusive. 

They land in Bangor without incident, and deplane using the plane’s emergency slide. They enter into the seemingly abandoned airport, which is quite odd. But, they need to figure out what has happened to them and fast. In the distance, Dinah can hear what sounds like rice krispies after milk has been poured into the bowl. With her exceptional hearing, nobody questions her but they understand that this sound is not of the world they have left. Craig Toomy tells her that they’re what is called the langoliers, creatures sent to take care of the lazy children of the world and that they don’t take prisoners. 

The group attempt to get their bearings. It is decided that they cannot stay here long. The food is bland and tasteless, the drinks without fizz and carbonation. Toomy goes off on his own in search of something that he may protect himself with. As previously stated, he is deadset on getting to Boston and will take great measures to ensure that he gets there on time. He lies in hiding waiting for the perfect moment to strike. 

And he does, when Brian and Nick are off doing their own thing. He stabs Dinah in the chest, leaving her lung punctured. He gets away once again, goes into hiding. 

It is decided that the plane must be refuelled in order for them to attempt to get back to where they came from. Bob has ultimately come up with a hypothesis that makes the most sense. He believes that during their original flight, they entered through a time rip, causing those who had been awake aboard the red eye flight to simply disappear, while those of them that had been asleep have awoken in the nightmare they’ve currently found themselves in. 

Nick, who has made it clear that he is some sort of soldier, helps Dinah by pulling the knife from her chest. He sends Don and Albert off to find a stretcher inside the airport services area, which is exactly where the madman that is Craig Toomy has found himself. When they enter, Albert realizes slightly too late that he is in there, though they have found the stretcher, but not before Mr. Toomy has attacked Mr. Gaffney. Albert begins to defend himself using something he had used as a child that nearly broke his brother’s arm. He does quite a bit of damage to Mr. Toomy, though he thought he had killed him at first. Dinah makes sure Nick understands that they need Mr. Toomy. 

Brian sets about refuelling the plane, and though they are running very short on time, barely make it before the creatures known as the langoliers appear. They look like balls, with rows of sharp teeth, eating away at the earth around them. Mr. Toomy, who has since regained consciousness, is told, by Dinah in some etheral form, that the people he had been sent to meet with have come to him, and he makes his way outside. But the langoliers spot him, and quickly take to getting rid of him, allowing Flight 29 to take off in the air again. 

They are attempting to find the time rip again, though nobody knows what they’re looking for. However, when they do, it’s the most beautiful thing that any of them have found. But Bob, the writer, has remembered something that they have forgotten - all of them had been asleep when they went through the first time, and they should be again. Nick has graciously agreed to be the person to stay away, affecting the cabin pressure enough to knock them all out, and to bring them back awake. He increases the pressure just in time, before he himself disappears and ceases to exist. 

They land at LAX, though it appears to be the same as when they landed in Bangor. However, there is something slightly different - colors are more vibrant, there is wind in the air and sounds have gone back to normal - all things that weren’t the same back in Maine. They re-enter the airport and realize that the present is catching up with them, as they have gone into the future though they can’t tell how far, though Bob seems to think no more than 15 minutes. They brace themselves against the wall, and they reappear in time, revealing themselves as the new people. 

The passengers of Flight 29 go outside, happy to be back in the world in which they had known it before their strange flight occurred. 

Back when I was a young child, I came across the miniseries for The Langoliers one day. It was several years after it had originally aired, but I was hooked. The story itself was appealing enough to keep a young me invested in a 3 hour miniseries. However, I had never read the book until just now. 

It was originally a novella with three other stories written by King, but now it is a standalone book in itself. The story, and what I remember of the miniseries, are so close that it was like i was reading the script from the miniseries itself. Super well done, and entertaining. Not exactly scary, of which is King’s forte, but definitely unsettling. 4/5 stars. 

[byneddiedingo]

Humphrey Bogart and Martha Vickers in The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946) Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers, Dorothy Malone, Peggy Knudsen, Regis Toomey, Charles Waldron, Charles D. Brown, Bob Steele, Elisha Cook Jr., Louis Jean Heydt. Screenplay: William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, Jules Furthman, based on a novel by Raymond Chandler. Cinematography: Sidney Hickox. Art direction: Carl Jules Weyl. Film editing: Christian Nyby. Music: Max Steiner. Trying to figure out exactly who did what to whom in Howard Hawks's The Big Sleep, screenwriters William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, and Jules Furthman are said to have consulted Raymond Chandler, the author of the novel they were adapting, about certain obscurities of the plot. Chandler admitted that he didn't know who killed the Sternwoods' chauffeur, or even who killed Shawn Regan -- if, in fact, Regan is dead. Yet this is one of the most enjoyable of films noir, if a movie that has so many sheerly pleasurable moments can really be called noir. It's also one of the most deliciously absurd -- or maybe absurdist -- movies ever made, including its persistent presentation of Humphrey Bogart's Philip Marlowe as an irresistible hunk, who has bookstore clerks, hat check girls, waitresses, and female taxi drivers swooning at his presence. The only thing that makes that remotely credible is that Lauren Bacall, and not just the character she played, Vivian Sternwood Rutledge, actually did. In his review for the New York Times, Bosley Crowther, one of the most obtuse critics who ever took up space in a newspaper, called it a "poisonous picture" and commented that Bacall "still hasn't learned to act" -- an incredible remark to anyone who has just watched her exchange with Bogart ostensibly about horse racing. This is one of Howard Hawks's greatest movies, and of course it received not a single Oscar nomination -- not even for Martha Vickers's delirious Carmen Sternwood. Vickers was so good in her role that her part had to be trimmed to put more focus on Bacall, who was being groomed for stardom. Sadly, Vickers never found another role as good as Carmen. Dorothy Malone, who did go on to stardom and an Oscar, steals her scene as the bookstore owner amused and aroused by Marlowe's charisma. And then there's Elisha Cook Jr. as a small-time hapless hood not far removed from the Wilmer who stirred Sam Spade's homophobia in The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1946). Except this time his demise elicits something Marlowe would seem otherwise incapable of: pity.

[ladythatsmyskull]

This was so good. I still want more.

The Iron Star from Weird War Tales #66 (August 1978). By Bob Toomey and Tom Sutton.

[evilhorse]

Flying rings around jet planes is a breeze for Krypto, who delights in the freedom of speed and flight!

[michigandrifter]

Drums Across the River 1954

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BHOC: SUPERMAN FAMILY #191

BHOC: SUPERMAN FAMILY #191

It was time for a new issue of SUPERMAN FAMILY to drop, and so I dutifully purchased this Dollar Comic from the 7-11 that week. SUPERMAN FAMILY was a bit of an inertial pick-up from me–I wasn’t particularly or especially drawn to any of its myriad of strips, and yet I liked Superman and his world in general, and that was enough to carry me through more often than not. This issue folds new…

[streamondemand]

Bogie and Bacall in 'The Big Sleep' on HBO Max

Bogie and Bacall in ‘The Big Sleep’ on HBO Max

Humphrey Bogart is seductive in an insolent way as the screen’s smoothest Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep (1946), Howard Hawks’ hardboiled adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s classic detective novel, and Lauren Bacall is his match as Vivian Rutledge, the spoiled socialite daughter of his client. The mystery revolves around blackmail, petty gangsters, and an underground pornography ring but the…

[nilnews4]

Battle heats up for phase-four coronavirus relief bill

The Senate’s passage of a $484 billion coronavirus reduction invoice on Tuesday is setting the stage for negotiations on an excellent greater package deal that would rival the $2.2 trillion CARES Act handed by Congress final month.

The laws would funnel tens of billions if not a whole bunch of billions to state and native governments and will handle infrastructure spending and election safety.

S…

[when-did-this-become-difficult]

The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act: An Update!

The US Senate bill that would let disabled & elderly people save more money while still keeping their Social Security benefits (and which is pegged to inflation so we don’t need to keep passing increases over and over!) aka baby’s personal favorite legislation of the 117th Congress, has a little update!

On 06/06/2022, the bill’s original sponsors, senators Sherrod Brown (OH Dem) and Rob Portman (OH Rep), were joined by two new sponsors, Senator Ron Wyden (OH Dem) and Senator Bill Cassidy (LA Rep). (Source: official congressional website for the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, also known as S.4102) The more bipartisan support, the better a chance it has of actually passing, so I’m excited!

Right now, it’s still in the Senate Committee on Finance. Keep in mind that Sherrod Brown actually introduced this legislation (or something very similar) in a previous year and it didn’t go through, but now he has Portman on board and Portman is going to get replaced in 2022, probably by a far worse Republican (fucking JD Vance, a massive capitalist who thinks welfare is Bad), so the time to get this passed is now! We don’t know what the 2022 midterms will bring.

Here’s all the current Senate Committee on Finance members, with links to their Wikipedia page. If one of these belongs to you, now would be a great time to call or send a letter! If you enter in your state on the official Senate site it will tell you their official Senate contact info. If you'd like to read the full text of the bill, I recommend it, it's very short, probably shorter than this post! I don't have a head count of who supports it at this point, but it wouldn’t hurt to let them know that they should! (I mean, I’m guessing Elizabeth Warren’s on board, lmao, but.)

DEMOCRATS on the Senate Committee on Finance

Ron Wyden, Oregon, Chairman - new co-sponsor

Debbie Stabenow, Michigan

Maria Cantwell, Washington

Bob Menendez, New Jersey

Tom Carper, Delaware

Ben Cardin, Maryland

Sherrod Brown, Ohio - original co-sponsor

Michael Bennet, Colorado

Bob Casey, Pennsylvania

Mark Warner, Virginia

Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island

Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire

Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada

Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts

REPUBLICANS on the Senate Committee on Finance

Mike Crapo, Idaho, Ranking Member

Chuck Grassley, Iowa

John Cornyn, Texas

John Thune, South Dakota

Richard Burr, North Carolina

Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania

Tim Scott, South Carolina

Bill Cassidy, Louisiana- new co-sponsor

James Lankford, Oklahoma

Steve Daines, Montana

Rob Portman, Ohio - original co-sponsor

Todd Young, Indiana

Ben Sasse, Nebraska

John Barrasso, Wyoming