Crossover of the Week

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.