Eddie
Drood, aka Shaman Bond, is a member of the Drood (née Druid) clan that protects
the world from supernatural threats. He is suddenly inexplicably declared a
rogue by his family, who set out to kill him. He strives to learn the reason
why. The Secret Histories books are set in the same universe as the Nightside
series and other works by Simon R. Green. Appearing or mentioned in this book
are: a Time Agent whose latest regeneration has gone terribly wrong, turning
him inside out (a reference to Doctor Who and Torchwood); the Necronomicon
(from Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, of course); a Kandarian possessing amulet
(referencing the Evil Dead films); the Old Ones (another Mythos reference); a
Hyde using a distillation of Jekyll’s old formula (from Robert Louis
Stevenson's novel); Rossum’s Unionized Robots (a reference to Karel Capek's
play R.U.R.); a 1930s powder blue Hirondel convertible sports car (the
same fictional brand of car driven by Simon Templar, aka the Saint); Alice
Little (aka Alice Liddell of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland fame);
Penelope Creighton (presumably a relative of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward from Thunderbirds,
which probably takes place in an AU); Area 52 (located in the Antarctic, and
therefore presumably the same Area 52 seen in the Image Comics series of the
same name); taduki (from the Allan Quatermain novels); Martian red weed
(from Wells' The War of the Worlds); the Arcadia Project (from the Nightside
book Hell to Pay); Vril Power Inc. (based on the Vril from Edward
Bulwer-Lytton's The Coming Race); the Lurkers on the Threshold (a
reference to August Derleth's The Lurker at the Threshold); Arne
Saknussemm (from Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth); Cave
Carson (a longtime DC Comics hero); a stuffed moomintroll (from Tove Jansson's
Moomin books); a statue of a black bird (the Maltese Falcon); a small black
lacquered puzzle box (a Lament Configuration from the Hellraiser films); the
Holy Hand Grenade of St. Antioch (from the film Monty Python and the Holy
Grail, which would be a greatly exaggerated account of the quest for the
Grail); scrimshaw carved from the bones of a great white whale (Moby Dick); and
Baron von Frankenstein.
And lots of interesting stuff in the later books in the series.
ReplyDeleteI know a crossover that's missing. An statue called the Manx Cat appears in the novel. That's from the comic Grimjack. From the Wikipedia article on Grimjack:
ReplyDeleteThe story involves "The Manx Cat", a statuette of such a cat that at first seems to be a simple MacGuffin like the classic Maltese Falcon of the novel and films by that name, but which begins showing malevolent powers. The plot thickens with time travel, reincarnation, and Elder Gods.
From google books, I found out that it appeared in this book. I certain this a reference since another mystical object from the comic, the Miller Medallion, appears in Green's Nightingale's Lament.
Because of the nature of the setting, Cynosure the interdimensional city, is nexus of different realities. You could travel from one universal to another by crossing the street. Since Wildwood Cemetery from the Spirit is part of Cynosure that would be where it intercepts with the CU. There are a lot of cameos of CU characters in the series,. The Shadow, in particular, shows up a lot in the issues drawn by Tim Mandrake. There are references to Michael Moorcock's multiverse. Grimjack also appears in the Roger Zelazny's Amber series. It was also the setting of crossovers between other comics published by First including Nexus and Dreadstar. Actually, you could probably write a book about the references in Grimjack.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimjack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynosure_%28comics%29
Thanks, I've added the Manx Cat reference to my writeup. Good catch!
ReplyDeleteYou know the only reason I knew this was because was fooling around on the internet yesterday. I did this because I was certain Simon Green was influenced by the comic. Good thing I have too much free time!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure appearing in Grimjack would establish a character as in the CU, but I think it would establish that they exist somewhere in the multiverse that includes the CU. That said most of the cameos and crossovers of characters that aren't in the CU couldn't possibly be in the CU. The comic Nexus happens in a future different than future from Star Trek which is generally held to be the future of the CU. The Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles appear in the comics back up feature Munden's Bar (which the title character owned), but I'm pretty sure that is considered a separate universe. Of course, the TMNT is nothing, in one issue Charlie the Tuna from those commercials makes a cameo. :)