Crossover Covers: Sherlock Holmes and the Zombie Problem

An alternate version of “The Final Problem” with Moriarty unleashing zombies upon England. Obviously an AU. Phileas Fogg and Passepartout also appear.

Crossover Covers: A Gathering of Crows

In Brinkley Springs, West Virginia, Levi Stoltzfus, the ex-Amish magus, battles agents of Meeble of the Thirteen. Former soldier Donny Osborne served with the likes of Tyler Henry, from York, Pennsylvania, and Don Bloom, who went AWOL and was rumored to have joined Black Lodge. Levi is familiar with Cthulhu cultists, and has an e-reader that contains scanned pages from the Necronomicon. A supernatural entity called “Mrs. Chickbaum” is mentioned. Nyarlathotep is named. Levi is familiar with the siqqusim. “That crazy Earl Harper wingnut” and Teddy Garnett are mentioned. Levi walks through the Labyrinth with a group of survivors, one of whom observes in the various realities zombies, “something dark in the middle of it all,” goat-men, a giant monster with a squid for a head, and crab-lobster-scorpion monsters, as well as being passed by a different version of Teddy Garnett, “a real pretty black girl,” “some young guy dressed up like a mobster,” and an old farmer Levi believes to have been Nelson LeHorn. Levi defeats Meeble’s agents by using the Labyrinth to send them to Yuggoth, domain of Behemoth of the Thirteen; while there, he glimpses the shining trapezoid. The Thirteen are the main villains of Brian Keene’s Labyrinth Mythos, pre-Universal beings that travel from reality to reality destroying Earths. The Labyrinth is an otherdimensional realm that connects all of Keene’s various realities. Tyler Henry was a minor character in Keene’s novel Ghost Walk. Don Bloom was the protagonist of Keene’s short story “Babylon Falling.” Black Lodge is a super-secret occult organization that appears throughout Keene’s works, and across his multiverse. While there is no overt connection in this story, Keene’s notes on his short story “Halves” claim the leprechaun “Mr. Chickbaum” from that story is connected to this “Mrs. Chickbaum.” The siqqusim are the main villains of Keene’s Rising series and the novel Clickers vs. Zombies, all of which take place in an AU. The Earl Harper and Teddy Garnett mentioned here are this world’s versions of those characters, which originally appeared in Keene’s book Earthworm Gods; the version of Teddy seen in the Labyrinth is probably from that world. The zombies could be from any of Keene’s zombie realities. The “something dark” is Nodens of the Thirteen, from Keene’s novels Ghost Walk and Darkness at the Edge of Town. The goat-men are a reference to Keene’s novel Dark Hollow. The squid-monster is Keene’s Leviathan, of the Thirteen. The crab-lobster-scorpion monsters are Clickers, from the worlds of Keene and J. F. Gonzalez’ trilogy of novels and Clickers vs. Zombies. The black girl is Frankie, from The Rising and City of the Dead, and the mobster is Tony Genova, from various Keene works; there’s no way to know yet which of Keene’s worlds they hail from. Nelson LeHorn is from Keene’s novel Dark Hollow, which does take place in the CU. Across all levels of the Labyrinth, Frankie, Teddy Garnett, Tony Genova, and Nelson LeHorn are of the Seven, a group of people with the power to destroy the Thirteen. According to Keene, the Exit, the serial killer from his stories “This is Not an Exit” and “I Am an Exit,” is also one of the Seven, and was originally supposed to appear in this tale, until Keene felt he was stealing the show. Cthulhu cultists, Nyarlathotep, Yuggoth, and the Necronomicon are all from the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. The shining trapezoid is almost certainly connected to the shining trapezohedron from Lovecraft’s “The Haunter of the Dark.”

Crossover Covers: Holy Disorders

Oxford don and amateur detective Gervase Fen is disgusted when Scotland Yard becomes involved in the case he’s investigating. There is talk of sending down Sir John Appleby to look into the matter. Gervase Fen is already in the CU through a reference in James Anderson’s novel The Affair of the Mutilated Mink; the reference to Michael Innes’ sleuth Sir John Appleby bolsters his inclusion.

Crossover Cover: Something Nasty in the Woodshed

In a previous post, I covered Don't Point That Thing at Me, the first novel in Kyril Bonfiglioli's Charlie Mortdecai series. In the second novel, Charlie visits his old tutor, John Dryden, at Scone College, and encounters Bronwen Fellworthy for the first time. A Miss H. Glossop appears. Scone College is from Evelyn Waugh’s Decline and Fall. Miss Glossop may be a relative of Honoria Glossop from P. G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves stories.

Crossover Cover: It's That Time Again 3

The It's That Time Again anthology series consists of new stories of old time radio characters. Volume 3 is all crossovers. Jim Harmon's "Jack Armstrong and the Hoard of Montezuma" has the main character of Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy meeting the fictionalized radio version of Tom Mix. Richard A. Lupoff's "Streamliner" has the Mysterious Traveler meeting the Whistler. In Jon Swartz, Ph. D and Jim Harmon's story "On the Trail of Professor Proteus," the title character of The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen meets Gene Autry. Gareth Tilley's "The Singular Affair of the Gentleman Cracksman" has Sherlock Holmes matching wits with Raffles. Steve Kallis' "Any You Walk Away From" teams Captain Midnight with Sky King. Martin Grams, Jr.'s "Hold the Press: Paladin vs. Dillon" features the main characters of Have Gun - Will Travel and Gunsmoke. In Rick Phillips' "War Between Two Worlds," an unnamed Man of Action (implicitly Superman) becomes involved in the events of Orson Welles' version of the War of the Worlds. Win included all of the above stories in the first two volumes. I will include the following in the new volumes. In Steve Thompsen's "The Duffy's Tavern Matter," insurance investigator Johnny Dollar looks into the case of a car that crashed through a window of Duffy’s Tavern. Dollar, from the 1949–1962 radio series Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, is in the CU through C. J. Henderson and Joe Gentile’s novel Partners in Crime. Therefore, this crossover brings in Duffy’s Tavern, from the 1941–1951 radio show of the same name. In Michael Leannah's "Vacation in Hollywood," Jack Benny hires vacationing private eye Richard Diamond to protect his fortune when several of his fellow comedians are robbed. In Barbara Gratz's "Marriage and Love," Fibber McGee and his wife Molly attend a marriage encounter group. The other couples present are John and Blanche, Ronald and Benita, George and Gracie, and Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead. The McGees are from the radio series Fibber McGee and Molly. By extension, that show’s spin-offs The Great Gildersleeve and Beulah also take place in the CU. The Great Gildersleeve, which began in 1941, had Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve moving into his deceased brother-in-law’s estate. Since Gildersleeve is still Fibber’s next-door neighbor in this story, it must take place before he moved. John and Blanche are the title characters of another radio show, The Bickersons. Ronald Colman and Benita Hume were a real acting couple that played fictionalized versions of themselves on the radio series The Jack Benny Program. George Burns and Gracie Allen were also real, but played fictionalized versions of themselves on the radio show The Burns and Allen Show. Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead are from the radio show Blondie, based on Chic Young’s comic strip. Since Blondie and Dagwood are in the CU via Win's story "Happy Death Men," so are the other couples. In John Leasure's "Mary Noble: A Backwoods Life with Lum and Abner," actor Larry Noble is tricked into taking a role in a play in Pine Ridge, Arkansas, preventing him from auditioning for the film Gone with the Wind. While in Pine Ridge, Larry and his wife Mary meet store owners Lum Edwards and Abner Peabody. The Nobles see a sign saying Bug Tussle is 50 miles aways, and Pine Ridge 10 miles. Lum and Abner, from the radio, film, and comic strip series of the same name, are in the CU through an appearance in a 2014 Dick Tracy storyline. The town of Bug Tussle was the original home of the Clampett family on the television series The Beverly Hillbillies, which is also in the CU through a reference in Erwin K. Roberts’ Jim Anthony story "The League of Dead Patriots." Therefore, this story brings in Mary Noble from the radio show Backstage Wife. In Justin Felix's "Saturday Morning Paper," Gildersleeve allegedly meets the title character of Honest Harold. However, Harold's role in the story is unclear; the only person who could be him in the story is a barbershop customer who isn't described or named, and doesn't have any dialogue. In George Fowler's "House Painting - Lodge Style," Vic and Sade Gook briefly meet Aunt Fanny, Lum, and Abner. Since, as previously stated, Lum and Abner are in, this crossover brings in their fellow radio characters Vic and Sade Gook (from Vic and Sade) and Aunt Fanny (from the variety program The Breakfast Club).

Crossover Movie Poster: Die Hard 2

General Ramon Esperanza is the dictator of the Central American country of Val Verde. Val Verde first appeared in the movie Commando. It has also appeared on the television series Supercarrier and Adventure, Inc., as well as the comic book Sheena. Steven E. de Souza wrote all of the works in question. The Die Hard films are in the CU via Sgt. Al Powell's appearance in an episode of Chuck. De Souza's version of Sheena was brought in by the Moonstone comic Phases of the Moon. Therefore, Val Verde's other appearances take place in the CU as well.

Crossover of the Week

November 1920

THE ARTIST AS WOLF

Charles St. Cyprian and Ebe Gallowglass attend a party where the art of Gabriel-Ernest Smythe is being displayed. St. Cyprian pronounces Smythe’s work “no worse than your average Pickman.” The party is hosted by Roberta “Bobbie” Wickham, who expresses surprise at St. Cyprian’s attendance, having thought he “would have gone into hiding with Bertie and the rest of the Drones.” St. Cyprian refers to Van Cheele and Toop.

Short story by Joshua Reynolds in Leather, Denim & Silver: Legends of the Monster Hunter, Miles Boothe, ed., Pill Hill Press, 2011. Gabriel-Ernest Smythe, Van Cheele, and Toop are from H .H. Munro’s werewolf story “Gabriel-Ernest.” Richard Upton Pickman is from H. P. Lovecraft’s “Pickman’s Model.” Bobbie Wickham appears in P. G. Wodehouse’s stories about Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves, and is also related to the author’s series character Mr. Mulliner. The Drones Club appears in the Jeeves and Wooster stories, as well as many of Wodehouse’s other interconnected works.

Crossover Cover: Underland

Vampire Victor Renquist travels to “the Hollow Earth,” actually a series of underground caverns that can be reached from various points on Earth. Renquist spent time in England during World War II monitoring an occult warfare unit working out of Ravenkeep Priory under the command of the Duke de Richleau. Marcus De Reske’s attempts to raise Cthulhu are mentioned. Pelucidar is another of the Hollow Earth’s names. A member of a serpentlike race called the Dhrakuh tells Renquist, “the English eccentric, Professor Challenger, had made it into one of the subsidiary caves, but never discovered a major underground city, unlike the Norwegian, Nielsen, and two years later, the Prussian, Erich von Stalhein, who had come with a well-equipped expedition funded by the Krupp family.” The Duke de Richleau is from novels by Dennis Wheatley. Cthulhu is, of course, one of the Great Old Ones in the fiction of H. P. Lovecraft. Marcus De Reske was prevented by Renquist and his nosferatu coven from releasing Cthulhu in the second novel in the series, Darklost. The name “Pelucidar” is a variant on that of the world at the Earth’s core from the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. The land seen in Underland is clearly not Burroughs’ world, but both this novel and Steven Utley and Howard Waldrop’s story “Black as the Pit, from Pole to Pole” indicate there are many inner worlds. Professor Challenger appears in The Lost World and other works by Arthur Conan Doyle. Nielsen is not a pre-existing character, but Erich von Stalhein is the archenemy of W. E. Johns’ heroic aviator Biggles.

Crossover E-Book: The Belgian and the Beekeeper

The French detective Jules Poiret (who is frequently confused with Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective who recently investigated a mysterious affair at Styles) and Sherlock Holmes become involved in a sequel incident to The Sign of The Four, discovering Watson may not have been entirely honest in his account of the case. Jules Poiret, who may have been a partial inspiration for Poirot, is from Frank Howel Evans’ The Murder Club. Hercules Popeau, also cited as a possible inspiration for Poirot, appears in Marie Belloc Lowndes’ story “Popeau Intervenes.” Georges La Touche is from Freeman Wills Crofts’ novel The Cask. Inspector Juve and Fantômas are from Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre’s novels. Arsène Lupin is Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman thief. Joseph Rouletabille is a detective created by Gaston Leroux. Sven Hjerson is a fictional Finnish detective created by author Ariadne Oliver in Agatha Christie’s works. The disturbing implications that the Agra treasure was not lost but rather stolen by Watson, who married Mary Morstan in order to capitalize on her newfound wealth, and that he may have later murdered Mary, would be enough to place this story outside CU continuity, but the metafictional piece following it, “Holmes and Watson: A Conversation,” clinches it, with Watson revealing to Holmes they, Poiret, and Poirot are all fictional characters, and the many inconsistencies in Watson’s accounts are really the fault of their creator.

Crossover Covers: Dawn/Vampirella

The Green Lama: Crimson Circle

Adam Lance Garcia, a very talented author who I have corresponded with in the past, sent me a .pdf of his upcoming Green Lama novel, Crimson Circle, in exchange for a review. Therefore, I will be posting it here (since there are a good few crossovers in it), as well as on Amazon and Goodreads.

I have enjoyed Adam Lance Garcia's take on Kendell Foster Crossen's classic pulp hero the Green Lama ever since I read the original version of his novel The Green Lama Unbound in 2011. I am pleased to say that he has outdone himself here. In this particular entry, the Lama finds himself against a dangerous scientific enclave that poses a threat not only to him, but to his closest allies as well. The Lama's Buddhism in some ways sets him apart from many of the other pulp heroes, and is one of the most intriguing aspects of the character for me. Adam delivers on the action in spades, and also delves deeply into what drives the Lama and his aides. They are all well-rounded characters, particularly the Lama's lover, actress Jean Farrell.

Another aspect of the novel that I very much enjoy is that Adam plants some crossover nods in the novel placing the Lama in the same universe as other pulp heroes. I won't list all of them, but I will name a few. Betty Dale, Secret Agent X's girlfriend, has a strong supporting role. One of the Lama's foes here, Omega, first appeared in Garcia's story "The Black Rock Conspiracy," included in the anthology The New Adventures of Foster Fade, the Crime Spectacularist. There are also nods to his other story in that anthology, "Dead Man's Guns." Evangl Stewart-Brown remembers her mother talking about vigilantes such as "the bat fellow and that doctor gentleman," referring to not only the Black Bat, but also a certain bronzed doctor as well. Finally, near the end of the book, the alter ego of a future lesser-known superhero of the 1940s (who was published by a company that also did Green Lama comics) and a being created by a certain legendary weird fiction writer appear.

Adam Lance Garcia is a tremendous talent, and I am always glad to recommend his work. I am very grateful to him for sending me a copy of this superb novel for review. I am very much looking forward to his future work with the character, including a crossover with the Black Bat in a forthcoming anthology of new stories featuring that character. Kudos as well to Moonstone Books, one of my favorite current publishers, for giving Adam's Green Lama stories a home!

Crossover Cover: Don't Point that Thing at Me

Art dealer Charlie Mortdecai visits specialized automobile body maker Mr. Spinoza, who is willing to consider restoring or recreating various brands of car, including Hirondelles. Leslie Charteris’ hero Simon Templar, the Saint, drove a fictional brand of car called the Hirondelle (also spelled Hirondel). This reference confirms Charlie Mortdecai in the CU.

Crossover Cover: Hellboy: Oddest Jobs

As I've stated before, I take Hellboy crossovers on a case-by-case basis, as some fit easily into CU continuity, and some don't. This particular anthology of prose stories contains four stories with crossovers that do fit, in my opinion. In Brian Keene's "Salamander Blues," Hellboy encounters a group of mermen who are holding people hostage, and concludes the National Guard is not coming, and neither is the army or the FBI or Black Lodge or any of the other alphabet-soup agencies. Black Lodge is a covert occult organization that exists across Keene’s multiverse, including several works that have been incorporated into the Crossover Universe. In Barbara Hambly's "Repossession," set in the summer of 1962, Hellboy battles a demon hunter who is seeking notes left behind by Abdul Alhazred, author of the Necronomicon. In Gary A. Braunbeck's "In Cupboards and Bookshelves," Hellboy’s latest case brings him to Cedar Hill, Ohio, a town featured in a series of short stories, novellas, and novels by Braunbeck. "Feet of Sciron" by Rhys Hughes is particularly crossover-heavy. Hellboy recruits Foggy Dicks, a porn star that can generate ectoplasm, for a sex magic ritual in order to prevent the planet Nekrotzar from colliding with Earth, battling King Sciron in the process. Nekrotzar was drawn towards Earth by Marvin Carnacki, the current director of the Carnacki Institute, founded by his ancestor to rid the natural world of paranormal threats. Hellboy says most people think the original Carnacki was William Hope Hodgson’s fictional creation, just as many other authors pretended their subjects were fictional: Arthur Conan Doyle with Sherlock Holmes, Jules Verne with Phileas Fogg, H.G. Wells with Dr. Moreau, M.P. Shiel with Prince Zaleski, and Maurice Richardson with Engelbrecht. He also says Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien are at Mount Snaefell in Iceland. Foggy replies that he remembers Verne wrote a book about two explorers. Hellboy simply smiles in response. In Nekrotzar, the monster-hunting demon receives a riverboat ride from writer Philip José Farmer, who has been resurrected there after his death. Hellboy reveals to Foggy that billions of years ago Nekrotzar actually did collide with the Earth, which was merely a cloud of stardust then. Earth congealed around Nekrotzar, trapping Sciron’s palace in what would become the younger planet’s crust, forty miles under what is now Iceland. This Carnacki Insitute is clearly a separate group from the one seen in Simon R. Green’s Ghost Finders series. Engelbrecht is from Maurice Richardson’s book The Exploits of Engelbrecht. The subterranean world Sciron’s palace inhabits is the one seen in Jules Verne’s novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Philip José Farmer, of course, revealed the existence of the Wold Newton Family to the world, and wrote several chronicles of events in the CU. Farmer’s appearance here evokes his Riverworld novels, albeit as homage rather than a true crossover. This story must take place after Farmer’s passing in 2009, although it was published earlier than that.

Crossover of the Week

1899

FIRST STEPS

Seeking a use for his newfound powers, Leo Saint-Clair begins debunking mediums alongside his friend Robert Champeau. He attends a séance held by the Prillants. Among those in attendance are the Baldwins and the pregnant Mrs. Anne Jones and her chaperone, Ms. Loveday Brooke. The medium is Simon Orne, who conjures a demonic being. Leo later discovers another attendee at the séance was Lily Flowers, a member of the gang called the Vampires. Leo and Robert meet the Sâr Dubnotal, who reveals Orne summoned the creature, Baal, using a page from the Necronomicon. Inspector Milfroid accompanies Leo to another séance in order to arrest Orne.

Short story by Travis Hiltz in Night of the Nyctalope, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2012; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 11), Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Rivière Blanche, 2013. Leo Saint-Clair, aka the Nyctalope, is a hero in novels by Jean de La Hire. Robert Champeau and the Prillants are also from the Nyctalope stories. The Baldwins, Lily Flowers, and the Vampires are from Louis Feuillade’s serial Les Vampires. Anne (or Anna) Jones is the mother of noted archaeologist Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. Since Indiana Jones was born in 1899, the date of 1900 assigned to this story must be incorrect. Loveday Brooke is from The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective by Catherine Louisa Pirkis. Simon Orne is from Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. The Necronomicon is a mainstay of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. The Sâr Dubnotal appeared in his own self-titled pulp magazine penned by an anonymous author (possibly Norbert Sévestre). Baal is from the novel of the same name by Renée Dunan. Inspector Milfroid is from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera.

Crossover Covers: The Sky Masters

In an earlier post, I covered the first novel in Bill Craig's series featuring adventurer Michael "Hardluck" Hannigan. In the second novel, The Sky Masters, Hannigan and his friend Gregor Shotsky (who first met each other aboard a steamer called the African Queen) throw in their lot with Abigail Grayson, who like her deceased father, Sir Edmond Grayson, the Earl of Graystoke, is a British Intelligence agent. The three rendezvous at a café in Casablanca called the Blue Parrot, which is owned by an obese man named Ferrari. The African Queen is from C. S. Forester’s novel of the same name. Abigail and her father are probably related to the Duke of Greystoke. The Blue Parrot and its owner Signor Ferrari are from the classic film Casablanca.

Crossover Cover: Angel: After the Fall

Angel uses a spell from the Necronomicon Ex Mortis (from the Evil Dead films) to heal himself. This series takes place months after the Angel series finale “Not Fade Away.”

Crossover Covers: Vampirella/Army of Darkness

Crossover Cover: Preacher Special: Saint of Killers

Several famous figures of the Old West are named, including J. B. Books, Josey Wales, Ethan Edwards, Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae, and William Munny. J. B. Books is from Glendon Swarthout’s novel The Shootist. Josey Wales is from Forrest Carter’s novels Gone to Texas and The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales. Ethan Edwards is from the movie The Searchers. Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae are from Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove novels. William Munny is from the movie Unforgiven. Call and McCrae are mentioned in the comic book miniseries Rawhide Kid: Slap Leather, which Win included in Volume 1. A Marshal Books who is intended to be J.B. Books or his brother appears in two of Edward M. Erdelac's Merkabah Rider stories. Ethan Edwards and Martin Pawley appear in Breed #8: Blood Debt by James A. Muir. The 15th Breed novel Slaughter Time, refers to the events of Edge #14: The Big Gold by George G. Gilman. Win included the Edge novel Slaughter Road in Volume 1. Since Books, Edwards, and Call and McCrae are in the CU, so are Wales and Munny. As previously stated in my post about Mick Farren's novel Darklost, Preacher as a whole does not fit into the CU, so only this miniseries and the Blood and Whiskey one-shot are considered as having occurred there as well as the Preacher Universe. In the Peacemaker novels by William S. Brady, it is established the protagonist, John T. McLain, served with Josey Wales under Bloody Bill Anderson during the Civil War, and Wales was the one who suggested to McLain he go to Texas afterwards. It is also stated in that series McLain was the one who taught the title character of Brady’s Hawk series to handle weapons, and gave him the swan-down Meteor shotgun he wears in a special belt holster.

Crossover Cover: Black Order

Gray Pierce, lead agent of Sigma Force, a division of DARPA, visits a bookstore in Copenhagen that is owned by an ex-lawyer from Georgia. Sigma’s director, Painter Crowe, begins a romance with Dr. Lisa Cummings. The ex-lawyer is Cotton Malone, who appears in novels by Steve Berry. Malone was brought into the CU by M.J. Rose's audiobook In Session. Rollins and Berry later co-authored a story entitled "The Devil's Bones" for the crossover anthology FaceOff that was a team-up between Painter Crowe and Cotton Malone. Dr. Cummings first appeared in Rollins’ non-series novel Deep Fathom, which depicts the Earth suffering massive natural disasters due to solar flares. Obviously, Rollins must have exaggerated the apocalyptic nature of the true events, just as the authors of the Spider pulp novels did. Rollins and Grant Blackwood are the coauthors of a spin-off series featuring ex-army ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military working dog Kane.

Crossover Cover: Scourge of the Skies

Captain Philip Strange battles a mechanical pterodactyl developed by the Germans to terrify the Allies. Strange claims unnamed “scientists” believe in the existence of dinosaurs living in “an almost impassable jungle in South America.” Strange even remembers Harmer, a Canadian explorer, who talked of a “lost world” in “the upper Amazon country.” Strange is referring to Maple White Land from Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World.

Crossover of the Week

May 25–September 23, 1882

MERKABAH RIDER: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEIRD WEST

The Merkabah Rider and his allies set forth to at long last prevent the Hour of Incursion, in which the Great Old Ones will be unleashed upon the world. Appearing or mentioned are: the Dreamlands; the Liber Damnatus Damnationum; Delirium Tremens; the Scroll of Thoth; Misquamacus; Azathoth; Faustus Montague; an African witch-doctor; a Christian adventurer; the Drucker and Dobbs Mining Company; Professor Spates; Miskatonic University; Arkham; Warren Rice; the Tsath-yo language; New Valusia; Yoth; Yig; Tsathoggua; the Elder Sign; Nyarlathotep (aka the Abhorred Dread); Ossadagowah; Stallions’ Gate; the Book of Zylac; the Cold Ones; Shub-Niggurath; the Star Stones of Mnar; Pnakotus; the flying polyps; the Aklo language; Picaro Jake Gonnoff; the Hyperboreans; the Black Lotus; a barefoot man, possibly a Chinaman, playing a bamboo flute; Dunn & Duffy; the Flying Graysons; Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show; Noah Whateley; Yog-Sothoth; Dunwich; the shoggoth; Zorro; Gallo del Cielo; Slim Reezer; Jesse McLaughlin; Oscar Diggs; Richard Wilkins III; Lin McAdams; High Spade; Freddie Sykes; Dog Kelly; John Russell; an “electricista y aventurero”; Danny Caine; a masked gunman; the Pnakotic Manuscripts; the Seven Books of Hsan; the History of G’harne; the Naacal language; and the Elder Script.

Novel by Edward M. Erdelac, Damnation Books, 2013. The Great Old Ones, the Dreamlands, Azathoth, Miskatonic University, Arkham, Warren Rice, Yig, the Elder Sign, Shub-Niggurath, Pnakotus, the Great Race of Yith, the flying polyps, Yog-Sothoth, Dunwich, the shoggoth, the Pnakotic Manuscripts, and the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan are from the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. Nyarlathotep is also from Lovecraft’s Mythos; Erdelac conflates him with Sauron (aka the Abhorred Dread) from J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings. The Tsath-yo and Naacal languages are from Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price’s “Through the Gates of the Silver Key.” Yoth is from Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop’s “The Mound.” The Aklo language originally appeared in Arthur Machen’s “The White People,” and was also used by Lovecraft in his stories “The Dunwich Horror” and “The Haunter of the Dark.” Noah Whateley is meant to be Old Whateley from “The Dunwich Horror”; his first name was given as Noah in the role-playing game Call of Cthulhu. The Liber Damnatus Damnationum is from Richard L. Tierney’s Mythos novel The House of the Toad. The Scroll of Thoth is from Tierney’s tales of Simon of Gitta. The town of Delirium Tremens appears in several works by Erdelac, including the film Meaner Than Hell. Picaro Jake Gonnoff is also from Meaner Than Hell. Misquamacus, Ossadagowah, and the Star Stones of Mnar are from August Derleth’s short novel The Lurker at the Threshold; here, Misquamacus is conflated with the Blue Wizard Rómestámo from The Lord of the Rings. Faustus Montague is meant to be Rómestámo’s fellow Blue Wizard Morinehtar. The Christian adventurer is Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane, while the African witch-doctor is Kane’s ally N’Longa. New Valusia is named after the kingdom of Valusia from Howard’s King Kull stories. The Black Lotus is from Howard’s stories of the barbarian Conan and police detective Steve Harrison. The Drucker and Dobbs Mining Company alludes to gold prospector Fred C. Dobbs from B. Traven’s novel The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and its film adaptation; since both versions of the story take place in the 1920s, the Dobbs who co-owns the mining company must be a relative of Fred’s. Professor Spates is based on a reference to “Spates’ catalog” in the movie Ghostbusters. Tsathoggua, Zylac, the Cold Ones, the Hyperboreans, and the Elder Script appear in fiction by Clark Ashton Smith. Stallions’ Gate, New Mexico is from the television series Quantum Leap. The Book of Zylac (aka The Wisdom and Sacred Magic of Zylac the Mage) appears in Cthulhu Mythos fiction by Joseph S. Pulver. The barefoot Chinaman is Kwai Chang Caine from the television series Kung Fu; Danny Caine is his older half-brother. The Dunn & Duffy Combined Circus is from the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The Flying Graysons are a family of acrobats that died out in the 1940s when young Dick Grayson’s parents were murdered, resulting in his adoption by Batman and becoming the first Robin. Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show is from Ray Bradbury’s novel Something Wicked This Way Comes. It is worth noting Green Town, Illinois, the setting of Something Wicked This Way Comes, is also the town in which Bradbury’s books Dandelion Wine, Farewell Summer, and Summer Morning, Summer Night take place. Gallo del Cielo is from Tom Russell’s song of the same name, as is Zorro. Both are roosters, and therefore this Zorro is no relation to any of the many heroes that have used that name. Slim Reezer and Jesse McLaughlin are from the movie House II: The Second Story. “Electricista y aventurero” is Spanish for “electrician and adventurer,” which is how the character Bill Towner describes himself in House II. Oscar Diggs is better known as the Wizard of Oz. The immortal Richard Wilkins III is the Mayor of Sunnydale, California on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Lin McAdams and High Spade are from the film Winchester ’73. Freddie Sykes is from the film The Wild Bunch. Dog Kelly is from Sam Raimi’s Western The Quick and the Dead. John Russell is from the film Hombre. The masked gunman is the Lone Ranger. The History of G’Harne (aka the G’harne Fragments) appears in Cthulhu Mythos fiction by Brian Lumley.

Crossover Cover: The School of Darkness

John Thunstone and a number of allies (including Judge Pursuivant) battle Rowley Thorne at a symposium on American folklore.

Crossover Cover: Exiles of Kho

The priestess Lupoeth leads a band of her fellow Khokarsan exiles on a journey which results in the fulfillment of a prophecy she will found a great city. The god Sahhindar accompanies them, and says the city founded by Lupoeth and her companions will be very important to him. The foreword states the bulk of the story is derived from the recently discovered notebooks of Sir Beowulf William Clayton, the Oxford linguist who provided a partial translation of Phileas Fogg’s secret diary. The story has been reconstructed from Clayton’s translation of a tablet enigmatically designated “Holly 27-A.” Sahhindar refers to the star-shaped being from which the roots of the Tree of Kho emanate. Sahhindar and other members of Lupoeth’s group, including the priest Methquth, are captured by the K’goroshanaka tribe. Sahhindar later tells Lupoeth ingesting the nethkarna, the seed of the Tree, caused Methquth to experience visions of the future of Khokarsa. Exiles of Kho effectively serves as a prequel to Philip José Farmer’s Ancient Opar series, detailing how Lupoeth arrives at the site where she will build the city of Opar, from Edgar Rice Burroughs' novels. Sahhindar is the immortal, time-traveling John Gribardsun, as readers of Farmer’s Time’s Last Gift will recognize. Sir Beowulf William Clayton, a distant cousin of Gribardsun, is from Farmer’s The Other Log of Phileas Fogg. Holly is a reference to Ludwig Horace Holly from H. Rider Haggard’s novel She and its sequels. In She, Ayesha states her oracular powers only encompass events in Africa; her ability is derived from the same source as Methquth’s. According to Farmer, Ayesha’s native city, Kôr, was founded by Kohr, the son of Hadon of Opar. The star-shaped being is from Farmer’s translation and adaptation of J.-H. Rosny aîné’s Ironcastle. The K’goroshanakas are the ancestors of the Goura-Zannkas from Ironcastle.

Crossover Cover: Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time

Atomic Robo battles an eldritch horror that exists across time over the course of 83 years. Ro-Man appears outside Robo's office in the 1971 chapter. Robo’s transtemporal foe, though not named, is unmistakably the Great Old One Yog-Sothoth. Ro-Man is from the science fiction film Robot Monster. Although the film’s ending reveals its apocalyptic events were only a dream, Ro-Man is then shown coming out of a cave. Robo probably convinced Ro-Man to abandon his plans for conquest and join Tesladyne.

Crossover Cover: Locked Rooms

Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell are in San Francisco, where they cross paths with writer Dashiell Hammett, who tells Mary her former psychiatrist was murdered using “some kind of bird carving…an owl maybe, from Rhodes or Crete or something in the Mediterranean.” The statue used to murder Russell’s psychiatrist will later become the subject of a book by Hammett entitled The Maltese Falcon.

Crossover Cover: Savage Dawn

The Outlanders series, written by various authors under the pseudonym “James Axler,” is set in a future incompatible with the one seen in the Star Trek franchise. This particular novel is by Douglas P. Wojtowicz. Kondo says of a subterranean empire filled with dinosaurs, “It’s amazing that no one has ever stumbled upon it.” Remus replies, “Some have. But the tales were so astounding that those who lived in the world above relegated them to flights of fancy, instead of the true exploits of men such as George Edward Challenger or David Innes.” Besides this reference, Wojtowicz's Wings of Death establishes that one of the series' main characters, Kane, is the reincarnation of Solomon Kane.

Crossover Cover: Death Rides the Valkyrie

This story originally appeared in the Airship 27 anthology Black Bat Mystery Volume One in 2010, and was released in a revised edition as a standalone e-book by Timepiece Press in 2015. The Black Bat investigates a theft aboard a zeppelin. One of the suspects is reformed ex-con Rowland Clark. The Bat’s assistant Silk Kirby scoffs at rumors of a “crime college” in upstate New York. However, after Clark seemingly commits suicide, the Bat reveals the crime college does exist, and Clark was rehabilitated there. Clark’s murderer proves to be Kobold, a former member of the group of German adventurers known as the Alle-Männer. The Crime College was founded and run by Doc Savage, of course. Ostensibly a group of adventurers from the German pulps, the Alle-Männer (German for “All-Men”) were actually created by Salmon, and also appear in his forthcoming novel All-Men: The Shadow-Line.

Crossover of the Week

I didn't post anything yesterday because it was my birthday, so here's today's post. :)

December 2010

NIGHT GAUNTLET

Dr. Emil Hesychius’s former office at the University of Texas is covered with souvenir postcards from many places, including: Derry, Maine; Arkham, Massachusetts; Glory, West Virginia; Sesqua Valley, Washington; Brichester, England; Binger, Oklahoma; Mirocaw, Idaho; Crouch End, England; Telfer, Australia; and Nan Madol, Federated States of Micronesia. Hesychius went on a shooting spree from the top of the University’s clock tower, claiming he was shooting “nightgaunts.” John Giloh and Dr. Susan Derby go on a date to see Red Dreams, a Korean horror film directed by Harry Chang. Susan, a member of the Derby-Pickman clan, shows John the Sign of Koth.

Round-robin story by Walter C. Debill, Jr.; Richard Gavin; Robert M. Price; W. H. Pugmire; Jeffrey Thomas; and Don Webb, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March–April 2011. Derry, Maine is featured in many of Stephen King’s works. Arkham, Massachusetts is the site of many of H. P. Lovecraft’s tales of the Cthulhu Mythos. Glory, West Virginia is a recurring setting in the works of author Davis Grubb. Sesqua Valley, Washington appears in Cthulhu Mythos tales by W. H. Pugmire. Brichester, England is part of the Severn Valley in Mythos fiction by Ramsey Campbell. Binger, Oklahoma is a real place that appears in Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop’s story “The Mound.” Mirocaw, Idaho is from Thomas Ligotti’s Mythos story “The Last Feast of Harlequin.” Crouch End, England is a real place that served as the setting for Stephen King’s Mythos story “Crouch End.” Telfer is a real place located in Australia’s Great Sandy Desert, the latter of which was referenced in Lovecraft’s story “The Shadow Out of Time.” Nan Madol, Federated States of Micronesia is a real place that was the setting for A. Merritt’s The Moon Pool. The nightgaunts and the Sign of Koth are from Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle stories. Rick Lai writes, “Red Dreams is from the prologue to Ramsey Campbell’s ‘The Franklyn Paragraphs.’ This prologue is generally printed on a page preceding the story, and sometimes has the title ‘Errol Undercliffe: A Tribute.’ Undercliffe is a fictional horror writer whose short story was the basis for Red Dreams.” Dr. Susan Derby is probably related to the namesake of the Nathaniel Derby Pickman Foundation from Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness.”

Crossover Cover: Vampirella, Kabal Agent

Vampirella joins the Kabal. For her first mission, she must rescue her fellow agent Beatrice Rappaccini, who has been kidnapped by the Promethean Society, which consists of Dr. Anton Moreau, Dr. John Dee, Dr. Caligari, and Victor von Frankenstein, who seek to exchange Bea for their teammate Dr. Faustus, who has been imprisoned by the Kabal. Kabal agents Tristan and Usher assist Vampi, as does Lazarus, the Walking Dead Man, one of Victor's creations. Beatrice Rappaccini is from Nathaniel Hawthorne's story “Rappaccini's Daughter.” Dr. Anton Moreau must be a descendant of H.G. Wells' Dr. Alphonse Moreau who is following in his forebear's footsteps by operating on animals to give them manlike forms. Dr. Caligari is from the classic German silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. This Victor von Frankenstein must be one of the many relatives and/or descendants of Mary Shelley's Victor who have engaged in experiments of their own. Dr. Faustus is from Christopher Marlowe's play The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. Werewolf Tristan Caillet is doubtless a relative of Bertrand Caillet, the title character of Guy Endore's novel The Werewolf of Paris. Roderick Usher IV is descended from the original Roderick Usher, from Edgar Allan Poe's story “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

Crossover Covers: 10th Muse/The Legend of Isis

In the year 2899, the 10th Muse and her fellow goddess Isis are manipulated by a wizard on the planet Loam into battling his uncle. The 10th Muse is in the CU through encounters in the 21st centuries with Shi and Demonslayer, among others. This crossover brings in the version of the Egyptian goddess Isis depicted in the comic book The Legend of Isis. Fortunately, nothing in this story explicitly contradicts the established future history of the CU.