Monday, March 6, 2023

Crossover Cover: Tales from the Hanging Monkey Volume 2

 

In Crossovers Expanded Volume 1, I covered all four stories in the anthology Tales from the Hanging Monkey Volume 1, published by Airship 27 Productions. Two of the stories in the second volume have crossovers.


In Don Gates' "The Star of the Sea," a mysterious woman named Moira LeCain tells Corky O’Brian, the owner of the Hanging Monkey bar on the island of Motugra, about the sea creatures known as the Abyss Dwellers: “It is theorized that they have ties with the Deep Ones that are spoken about in the Ponape Scriptures, or with a particular kind of amphibian creature that are known to reside in certain black lagoons of the Amazon.” The Deep Ones are from H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Shadow over Innsmouth.” The Ponape Scripture is from Lin Carter’s stories set in the milieu of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. The kind of amphibian creature known to reside in certain black lagoons of the Amazon is a reference to the Gill-Man from the movie Creature from the Black Lagoon and its sequels.


In Lee Houston, Jr. and Nancy A. Hansen's "The Merciless Mermaid," Corky and friends battle a beautiful redheaded villain named Sirene and her crew of treasure seekers. Ultimately, Sirene and her men escape with a chest containing their quarry. One of the sailors, Sirene’s father, asks, “Ya have any idea how your client knew about it, let alone why he’s willing to pay so much for a small statue of a black enameled bird?” The statue is the Maltese Falcon, from Dashiell Hammett’s novel of the same name. There is a reference to the mess brewing in Europe, placing this story during World War II. 

These two crossovers are among hundreds I've written up for my latest book, Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which will be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2 by Win Scott Eckert!

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