Friday, December 25, 2015

Crossover Cover: PulpWork Christmas Special 2014


This special from PulpWork Press includes three stories with crossovers.

In Josh Reynolds' Royal Occultist story "The Teeth of Winter," Charles St. Cyprian, hunting down a man-eating wendigo in Alberta alongside his assistant Ebe Gallowglass and the elderly Native American gunfighter Lone Crow, makes the third Hloh gesture. St. Cyprian first met the Inuit angakkuq Ukaleq in London, before the War, when he was an assistant to Thomas Carnacki. St. Cyprian and Lone Crow discuss Dr. Silence. St. Cyprian traces the sacred shape of the Voorish Sign in the air. Lone Crow appears in weird Western stories by Joel Jenkins. Hloh is from Margery Lawrence’s stories about occult detective Miles Pennoyer. Thomas Carnacki is from William Hope Hodgson’s collection Carnacki the Ghost-Finder, while Dr. Silence is from Algernon Blackwood’s collection John Silence. The Voorish Sign is from H. P. Lovecraft’s story "The Dunwich Horror."

Just as Reynolds' story features a character created by Joel Jenkins, Jenkins' own contribution to the special is a Royal Occultist story. On Maitress Island, St. Cyprian and Gallowglass battle the God of the Dark Burgeoning Deaths. St. Cyprian notes, "Professor Moriarty Moreau is said to have possession of a fragment of the Pnakotic Manuscript which contains directions for sealing portals without the use of human blood." Bella Mae Jobson of the Royal Archaeological Society comes to St. Cyprian and Gallowglass’ aid. St. Cyprian and Gallowglass are from the Royal Occultist stories by Josh Reynolds. Professor Moriarty Moreau’s connection to Professor James Robert Moriarty and Doctor Alphonse Moreau is unknown. The Pnakotic Manuscript is from H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Bella Mae Jobson, originally from P. G. Wodehouse’s Drones Club story "The Editor Regrets," first encountered St. Cyprian and Gallowglass in Reynolds’ story "Deo Viridio."

The final story relevant to this blog is "Dillon and the Night of the Krampus" by Derrick Ferguson. Dillon and his friends Wyatt Hyatt and Reynard Hansen battle a Krampus in Reynolds, Alaska. Dillon receives a puppy from Hoover, a man he met years ago. Dillon once sought out a man named Jim Anthony in New York to learn certain specialized knowledge from him. Professor Ursula Van Houghton, who teaches at Grand Lakes University, has been hired by the people of Reynolds to help them deal with the Krampus and recover their stolen children. Dillon took some courses in archaeology and cultural anthropology at the University of Northeastern California under Professor Sydney Fox. Hoover is Alaska Jim Hoover from the German pulp magazine Alaska Jim, Ein Held der Kanadischen Polizei. Jim Anthony appeared in the American pulp Super Detective. Dillon first met Alaska Jim and Jim Anthony in the novel The Vril Agenda, coauthored by Ferguson and Reynolds. Grand Lakes University is from the movie Back to School. The University of Northeastern California is from the sitcom Undeclared. Professor Sydney Fox is from the television series Relic Hunter.

Happy holidays!


No comments:

Post a Comment