The Crossover UniverseTM is a companion blog to the books Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1-2 by Win Scott Eckert, and the forthcoming Crossovers Expanded Volumes 1-2 by Sean Levin. Material excerpted from Crossovers Volumes 1 & 2 is © copyright 2010-2014 by Win Scott Eckert. All rights reserved. Material excerpted from Crossovers Expanded Volumes 1 & 2 is © copyright 2014-present by Sean Levin. All rights reserved.
Autumn 1928
THE GHULISTAN AFFAIR
The Kurd Ali al-Ghazi meets with a Texan. Ali, who tried to scare off an American expedition to Shahr-i-Zahr a few years before, says, “Honestly, I reckoned Jim had his eye on them since they came by way of the Levant, and King would intercept them when they headed into the Khyber Pass.” The Texan says the expedition’s dragoman would never have willingly led them into the Land of Ghouls. Ali asks the Texan if he’s ever heard of the Leng Plateau, and gives him greetings from Sonora, who has a brother who has trouble walking and sells his fever-dreams to a pulp magazine called Cleft Hooves or something similar. He also mentions Aga Khan and Shah li-Zahr. The Texan mentions the Gorge of Ghosts. The members of the expedition included a former Foreign Legionnaire, a man with a camera, a young man who had wild stories about a village in Hungary they visited, and a poet who was engaged. Ali brings up Kara-Shehr, and the two discuss Clarney. The Texan asks which of the expedition said the name Ghulistan. Afghanistan was known as Afghulistan before the Flood. The Texan once fought someone named Konaszevski.
Short story by Sam Inabinet in Pickman’s Gallery, Matthew Carpenter, ed., Ulthar Press, 2018. Ali al-Ghazi (or el Ghazi) is a disguise used by Robert E. Howard’s character Kirby O’Donnell. The Texan is another of Howard’s heroes, Francis X. Gordon, aka El Borak. Shahr-i-Zahr is meant to be Shahrazar from the Kirby O’Donnell stories “Swords of Shahrazar” and “The Treasures of Tartary.” Shahrazar is also mentioned in the El Borak story “Blood of the Gods.” The Land of Ghouls and Ghulistan are from the El Borak story “Three-Bladed Doom” and Howard’s Conan story “The People of the Black Circle.” Afghulistan is from the latter story. Aga Khan is Baber Khan from “Three-Bladed Doom,” while Shah li-Zahr is Shalizahr from the same story. Ivan Konaszevski is also from “Three-Bladed Doom,” as is the Gorge of Ghosts. Jim and King are James Schuyler Grim, aka Jimgrim, and Athelstan King from Talbot Mundy’s novels. The Leng Plateau is from H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos stories. Sonora is Steve Allison, aka the Sonora Kid, who appears in both his own series of stories by Howard and the El Borak tales. Sonora’s brother is James Allison, the wooden-legged hero of a series of stories by Howard dealing with reincarnation. “Cleft Hooves” is a reference to the magazine The Cloven Hoof from Howard’s John Kirowan story “The Children of the Night.” The Legionnaire is Randolph Carter from Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle. The photographer is Richard Upton Pickman from Lovecraft’s “Pickman’s Model.” The young man is Justin Geoffrey from Howard’s “The Black Stone.” The poet is Edward Pickman Derby from Lovecraft’s “The Thing on the Doorstep.” Kara-Shehr and Steve Clarney are from Howard’s “The Fire of Asshurbanipal.” Edward Pickman Derby married Asenath Waite in early 1929, a few months after they met, so this story likely takes place in late 1928.
This crossover is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This episode is one of hundreds of crossovers covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
Then you'll love this book, which ties in with that series!
All the details can be found in my 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 Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This crossover is one of hundreds covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! Like the first two volumes, this one is an official and AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This crossover is one of hundreds covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
Then you'll love this story to be published in December, which pits Irma Vep from the French serial Les Vampires against Filibus from the Italian film of the same name! I don't remember the author's full name, but I think his last name might be Levin...
For more information, be sure to pick up a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
February 1935
WEB OF THE BROWN RECLUSE
Professor Anton Macek considers consulting a doctor at the Empire State Building, but he is out of town. He decides against contacting a hotel owner with a legendary temper instead. A paperboy hawks the day’s copy of the Clarion. With his jet-black hair and square jaw, some say Kent Hardy resembles a certain famous cop from Chicago. Hardy is one of the best freelance criminologists in New York City, though some, such as Hammond or Noel, have greater reputations. Macek is a member of a group of scientists that also includes Dr. Lemuel Grimes. In its day, New York has seen masked marauders, murderous purple lights, skyscraper phantoms, and even a giant monkey. President Roosevelt tells Hardy, “It seems super-criminals like [the Brown Recluse] are coming out of the woodwork these days. The Black Star, Dr. Satan, the Whispering Shadow, the Tiger Shark...the list seems to go on and on.”
Short story by Greg Gick in Mystery Men (& Women) Volume 3, Ron Fortier, ed., Airship 27 Productions, 2012. The doctor at the Empire State Building is the bronze-skinned pulp hero. The hotel owner is Jim Anthony. The New York Clarion newspaper is from the Phantom Detective pulp novels. The Chicago cop is Dick Tracy. Wade Hammond appeared in stories by Paul Chadwick in the magazine Ten Detective Aces. The murderous purple lights are from the Hammond story “Doctor Zero,” while the skyscraper phantom is a reference to the Hammond story “Skyscraper Horror.” Dorus Noel’s exploits were chronicled by Arthur J. Burks in All Detective Magazine. Dr. Lemuel Grimes is related to Dr. A. J. Grimes from the Danny Dunn juvenile adventure novels by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The giant monkey is King Kong. The Black Star’s stories were told by Johnston McCulley in Detective Story Magazine. Dr. Satan is a villain created by Paul Ernst for Weird Tales. The Whispering Shadow is from the serial of the same name. The Tiger Shark is from the serial The Fighting Marines.
This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which is to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
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This episode is among the hundreds of crossovers covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
Then you'll love this novel, which has ties to both Henri Vernes' Bob Morane series and the Cthulhu Mythos!
For more information, be sure to pick up a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! Like its predecessors, this latest volume is an official and AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This novel is one of hundreds of crossovers that will be covered in my 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 Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This film is one of hundreds of crossovers covered in my 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 Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
Then you'll love this storyline from the webcomic The New Adventures of Tarzan which has connections to both Burroughs' The Monster Men and H. G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau!
For more information, be sure to pick up a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when it is published by Meteor House! Much like its predecessors, this volume is an official and AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
October 1937
CASE WITH NO CONCLUSION
Sergeant Beef is hired by Peter Ferrers to clear the name of his brother Stewart, who is in custody for the murder of the family doctor. Beef mentions his fellow detectives, Lord Simon Plimsoll, Nigel Strangeways, Anthony Gethryn, Albert Campion, and Dr. Gideon Fell, as well as his cousin Sergeant Matthew Beef, John Meredith’s assistant. Peter says Inspector Meredith, Inspector French, and Amer Picon were all too busy to take the case. Crime reporter Angus Braithwaite had been peeved by the certainty of success of various private investigators of whom he’s read, from Holmes and Blake to Thorndike and Mason. Plimsoll, Picon, and Monsignor Smith are quoted in Braithwaite’s paper, The Daily Dose, about Beef’s failure to solve the case and prevent Stewart’s hanging.
1939 novel by Lionel Townsend, edited by Leo Bruce. Lord Simon Plimsoll, a disguised version of Dorothy L. Sayers’ detective Lord Peter Wimsey, met Beef in Bruce’s Case for Three Detectives. Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot also appeared in that novel under the pseudonym “Amer Picon,” and G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown as “Monsignor Smith.” Wimsey, Poirot, Father Brown, Philip MacDonald’s detective Anthony Gethryn, Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion, John Dickson Carr’s Dr. Gideon Fell, Freeman Wills Crofts’ Inspector French, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Sexton Blake, R. Austin Freeman’s Dr. Thorndyke (to use the correct spelling), and Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason (who is actually an attorney, not a private investigator, though he did often make use of P.I. Paul Drake’s services in his cases) have all been included in the CU. This novel brings in Nicholas Blake’s detective Nigel Strangeways and Francis Gerard’s Sir John Meredith and Sergeant Matthew Beef. One of the characters mentions going to see the Shirley Temple movie Little Miss Broadway, which came out on July 29, 1938. However, the next novel in the series, Case with 4 Clowns, takes place from April 25-May 4, 1938, and mentions the events of this book as having occurred six months ago at the beginning. Therefore, I am placing it in October 1937.
This crossover writeup is one of the hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This crossover is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
Than you'll love this anthology, which consists of stories teaming the Great Detective with not only historical figures, but also fictional ones such as Catherine Louisa Pirkis' Loveday Brooke, Baroness Orczy's Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, and Arthur B. Reeve's Craig Kennedy!
For more information, check out my 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 Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This crossover is one of hundreds covered in my 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 Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This crossover is one of hundreds covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
Then you'll love this book in his Dr. Gideon Fell series, which has a shout-out to one of his other series characters, Henri Bencolin!
For more information, be sure to pick up a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when it is published by Meteor House! All three volumes are official and AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's books Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
Autumn 1898
GUIGNOL
Erik's current Angels of Music (Kate Reed, Lady Yuki, and Clara Watson) are hired to bring an end to the Théâtre des Horreurs, whose gruesome plays may not be staged. Appearing or mentioned are: Henry Wilcox; the Diogenes Club; Jacques Hulot; La Vie Francaise; the Persian; Morpho; Berma; Phroso; Bertrand Caillet; Eugene Mortain; Charles Pradier; General Assolant; Père de Kern; Georges du Roy; Dr. Orloff; Gustav von Aschenbach; Madame Mandelip; Place Frollo; Max Valentin, aka Maximilian the Great; Janus Stark; Malita; the Marquis d’Amblezy-Sérac; Aristide Forestier; Les Vampires; the Suicide Club; Frédéric Larsan; Inspecteur Juve; Dr. Johannes; the Grand Vampire; Sultan the Gorilla; Rollo the Knife-Thrower; and “a strange figure...wearing the headdress and golden death-mask of a pharaoh.”
Story by Kim Newman in Angels of Music, Titan Books, 2016. Erik and the Persian are from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. Kate Reed, a “deleted” character from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, also appears in Newman’s Diogenes Club series, and has a counterpart in the Anno Dracula Universe. The Club is from Doyle and Watson’s “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter.” Lady Yuki is Yuki Kashima, the title character of Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura’s manga Lady Snowblood. Clara and Eugene Mortain are from Octave Mirbeau’s novel Torture Garden. The surname Watson is derived from Pierre Chaine and André de Lorde's Grand Guignol play based on the book. Père de Kern is from Mirbeau’s Sébastien Roch. The Marquis d’Amblezy-Sérac is from Mirbeau’s Un Gentilhomme. Henry Wilcox is from E. M. Forster’s novel Howards End. Jacques Hulot is an ancestor of Monsieur Hulot, a character created and played by French comedian Jacques Tati. La Vie Francaise and Georges du Roy are from Guy de Maupassant’s novel Bel-Ami. Morpho and Dr. Orloff are from the movie The Awful Dr. Orloff. Berma is from Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. Phroso is an ancestor of Phroso the clown from Tod Browning’s film Freaks. Madame Mandelip and Malita are from Browning’s movie The Devil-Doll. Bertrand Caillet is from Guy Endore’s The Werewolf of Paris. Charles Pradier is from Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre’s Fantômas novel Le Magistrat Cambrioleur. Inspecteur Juve is Fantômas’ archenemy. General Assolant is from Humphrey Cobb’s novel Paths of Glory. Gustav von Aschenbach is from Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice. Place Frollo is named after Monseigneur Claude Frollo from Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Valentin is from the movie Le Jour Sè Leve; his first name and stage name are derived from his equivalent in the American remake, The Long Night. Janus Stark is a Victorian escape artist and crimefighter who appeared in the British comics Smash and Valiant. Aristide Forestier is from Cole Porter’s musical Can-Can. Les Vampires are from Louis Feuillade’s titular serial. The Grand Vampire is the title of the gang’s leader. The Suicide Club is from Robert Louis Stevenson’s short story of the same name. Frédéric Larsan is the alias used by Rouletabille’s father, the criminal Ballmeyer, in Gaston Leroux’s The Mystery of the Yellow Room. Dr. Johannes is from J.-K. Huysmans’ Là-Bas. Sultan the Gorilla is from the movie Phantom of the Rue Morgue. Rollo the Knife-Thrower is from the movie Mad Love. The “strange figure...wearing the headdress and golden death-mask of a pharaoh” is a reference to the title character of the serial Belphégor. However, Simone Desroches, the villain's alter ego, was born in 1902, so there must have been an earlier wearer of the mask.
This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my 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 Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This film is one of hundreds of crossovers covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are official and AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
Then you'll love this collection, which includes two standalone stories with connections to those books!
For more information, buy a copy of my upcoming book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
Then you'll love this episode of the Creepshow TV series, which not only ties in with those movies, but also has nods to Halloween, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Trilogy of Terror, and Clash of the Titans!
For more information, be sure to purchase a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This crossover is one of hundreds discussed in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! Like its predecessors, this volume is an AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
Then you'll love this crossover between two of his characters, Carson Napier of Venus and John Carter, Warlord of Mars!
For more information, be sure to purchase a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
November 5-7, 1964
FROM PARIS WITH HATE
Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, OSS 117, is assigned by his boss Armand Lesignac to rescue the French Minister of Justice from Fantômas. Lesignac says Lupin supposedly has a grandson running around Tokyo, and that Fantômas has already put Malloy, aka 077, in a body cast. 117 sets a trap to lure criminals who can help him against Fantômas using the Pink Panther diamond with the help of Inspector Clouseau. Diabolik and Eva Kant show up, as well as Anthony Logan, aka Kriminal. 117 tells Kriminal if he refuses to cooperate, he has arranged with the British government for him to spend the rest of his life in a high security “Village.” 117 calls Diabolik and Kriminal third-rate knockoffs of Fantômas, along with Satanik and Killing.
Short story by Nathan Cabaniss in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 13: Sang Froid, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2016; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 22), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2018. OSS 117 is the protagonist of Jean Bruce’s spy novels. Armand Lesignac is from the movies OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and OSS 117: Lost in Rio. Fantômas is Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre’s master villain. Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman thief Arsène Lupin is the grandfather of the title character of Kazuhiko “Monkey Punch” Katō’s manga Lupin III. Dick Malloy, Secret Agent 077, was played by Ken Clark in three Italian spy films. The Pink Panther diamond and Inspector Clouseau are from the Pink Panther film series. Diabolik and Eva Kant are from the comic series created by Angela and Luciana Giussani. Kriminal is the antihero of an Italian comic book by Max Bunker and Magnus, as is Satanik. The Village is from the classic television series The Prisoner. Killing is the title character of an Italian photo comic (“fumetti”) series.
This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are official and AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
This crossover, and hundreds more like it, are included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which will be published by Meteor House! Like the first two volumes, this one is an AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!
