Early
June-Early September 1882
THE
ISSUE OF DR. JEKYLL
Several English professors travel to Massachusetts, where they wind up
examining a comet that landed on the Gardner farm. Appearing or mentioned are:
Doctor George Edward Rutherford; Doctor Henry Jekyll; Mr. Banks; Mr.
Darling; Professor Henry Higgins; Doctor Moreau; Doctor Perry; Denton;
Causton; Arkham; Evangeline West’s uncle; Miskatonic University; Witch’s
Hollow; Bolton; Kingsport; Innsmouth; Derrie; Axel Lidenbrock; Ammi Pierce;
Nahum Gardner and his wife Nabby; Chapman’s Brook; Professor Selwyn Cavor;
Karel Colceag; Herbert West; and Gabriel Utterson.
Short story by Pete Rawlik at the HorrorTalk website. Doctor George Edward
Rutherford is meant to be Arthur Conan Doyle’s Professor Challenger; Farmer
revealed that the Professor’s true last name was Rutherford in Tarzan Alive.
Doctor Henry Jekyll and Gabriel Utterson are from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Mr. George Banks is from P.L.
Travers’ Mary Poppins books, while Mr. George Darling is from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Professor Henry Higgins is
from George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion. Doctor Moreau is from
H.G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau. Moreau’s first name is given as
Jean-Paul in this story, whereas he is identified as Alphonse Moreau in The
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II and other sources. The
Jean-Paul reference must be considered an error. Doctor Abner Perry is from
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Pellucidar novels. Denton is the English town where R.D.
Wingfield’s Jack Frost novels and the television series A Touch of Frost take
place. The English town of Causton is the setting of the Chief Inspector
Barnaby novels by Caroline Graham, as well as the television series Midsomer
Murders. Arkham and Miskatonic University are staples of H.P. Lovecraft’s
Cthulhu Mythos. Evangeline West’s uncle is James West from the television
series The Wild Wild West. Witch’s Hollow is from the story of the same
name by August Derleth. Bolton and Herbert West are from Lovecraft’s “Herbert
West—Reanimator.” Kingsport is from Lovecraft’s “The Festival.” Innsmouth is
from another Lovecraft story, “The Shadow over Innsmouth.” The town of Derry
(spelled “Derrie” here), Maine appears in many of Stephen King’s novels and
short stories. Axel Lidenbrock is from Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center
of the Earth. Ammi Pierce, Nahum and Nabby Gardner, and Chapman’s Brook are
from Lovecraft’s “The Colour Out of Space.” Professor Cavor is from Wells’ The
First Men in the Moon; his first name was given as Selwyn in The League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume I. Karel Colceag’s name is a nod to Carl
Kolchak, although the two are not meant to be the same character.
Is Karel Colceag a stubborn, insubordinate reporter?
ReplyDeleteA 19th century Kolchak appeared in Anno Dracula. Though you probably knew that. A reporter named Carl who looks like Darren McGavin as Kolchak appeared in an episode of Justice League Unlimited.
Yes, he is.
ReplyDeleteI did know about Kim Newman's Victorian Kolchak, but not about the appearance in JLU. I guess that establishes the DCAU (DC Animated Universe) as an alternate reality to the CU, just as the main DCU is.
I always thought of the DCAU as an alternate universe of the regular DCU, so there for also an AU of the Crossover Universe. I don't think it was considered an official alternate universe of the DCU, since when it premiered there was supposedly no multiverse.
ReplyDeleteKolchak appeared in the background of the graphic novel Grimjack: Demon Knight. Or at least a Kolchak since the Grimjack series was set in nexus of multiple realities.