1939
THE DEATH’S HEAD CLOUD
Jim Anthony battles a madman who has created a fog that
has a lethal effect on those it comes in contact with. Appearing or mentioned
are: Inspector Craig; Malone; Joséphine Balsamo; Irma Vep; “that odd Persson
woman”; Pickman; Dr. Death; Dr. Satan; “the Mephistophelean master of the
Si-Fan”; Fantômas; the Daily Sentinel; Reid; Xonira; Reid Enterprises;
Patricia Savage; the Bugle; the Globe; the New York Inquirer;
the Sky Band; Police Commissioner Warner; the Kingscote School for Girls; St.
Trinian’s; the Minchin’s Seminary; “a dance academy in Freiburg of dubious
reputation”; the Black Bat; “that arachnid lunatic in the fright-wig”; Ellen
Patrick; Margo Lane; “the Remmers that Wolfe sent around”; Maple-White Land; “a
lama with an unfortunate predilection for the color green”; Ravenwood; and
Captain Nemo.
Novel by Joshua Reynolds, Pro Se Press, 2013. Jim
Anthony appeared in the pulp magazine Super Detective, in stories
written by Victor Rousseau Emanuel, Robert Leslie Bellem, and W.T. Ballard.
Inspector Craig is from Robert Barbour Johnson’s short story “Far Below.”
Malone is Detective Thomas F. Malone from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red
Hook.” Richard Upton Pickman is from Lovecraft’s “Pickman’s Model.” Joséphine
Balsamo is Arsène Lupin’s archenemy. Irma Vep is from Louis Feuillade’s silent
film serial Les Vampires. Persson is Una Persson, a recurring character
in Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse. Dr. Death’s misdeeds were chronicled by
Harold Ward in a titular pulp magazine. Dr. Satan’s crimes were recounted by
Paul Ernst in Weird Tales. The master of the Si-Fan is Dr. Fu Manchu.
Fantômas is the vicious criminal mastermind created by Marcel Allain and Pierre
Souvestre. Reid is Britt Reid, aka the Green Hornet. The Daily Sentinel and
Reid Enterprises are both owned by Reid. Since Britt was based out of Detroit
rather than New York, the reporter in this novel must be an employee of the Sentinel’s
New York offices. Xonira is from Derrick Ferguson’s novels Dillon and the
Legend of the Golden Bell and Dillon and the Pirates of Xonira.
Patricia Savage is Doc Savage’s cousin. The Daily Bugle and the Daily
Globe are seen in Spider-Man stories published by Marvel Comics. The New
York Inquirer is from Orson Welles’ classic film Citizen Kane. The
Sky Band was an all-female group of criminals featured in a storyline in Lee
Falk’s comic strip The Phantom. The Black Bat appeared in stories by
Norman Daniels in the magazine Black Book Detective. Commissioner Warner
is also from the Black Bat stories. The Kingscote School for Girls is from
Antonia Forest’s novels about the Marlow family. St. Trinian’s appeared in
illustrated cartoons by Ronald Searle that were later adapted into a series of
films. The Minchin’s Seminary is from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s book A
Little Princess. The dance academy in Freiburg is from Dario Argento’s
horror film Suspiria. “That arachnid lunatic in the fright-wig” is the
Spider. Ellen Patrick is better known as the Domino Lady, who appeared in
stories by the pseudonymous “Lars Anderson” published in Saucy Romantic
Adventure. Margo Lane is one of the Shadow’s most loyal and trusted agents.
Wolfe is Rex Stout’s detective Nero Wolfe; Remmers is the rotund sleuth’s
favorite beer. Maple-White Land is from Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World.
The “lama with an unfortune predilection for the color green” is Jethro Dumont,
aka the Green Lama, whose stories were written by Kendell Crossen for the pulp Double
Detective. Ravenwood, “the Stepson of Mystery,” is an occult detective
appearing in stories by Frederick C. Davis in the pulp Secret Agent X.
Captain Nemo is, of course, from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
and The Mysterious Island.
I read up on Robert Barbour Johnson and his story on Wikipedia. Johnson seems like an interesting guy, as do many people who lived during the Depression.
ReplyDeleteJust read Far Below in Jeff and Anne Vandermeer's anthology the Weird. It mentions Nyarlathotep darkness and that Inspector Craig mentioned meeting Lovecraft and it's implied Pickman's Model was based on fact. The ghouls in this story are somewhat different from Lovecraft's (which is different from the Dresden Files), but they are pretty similar.
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