Crossover of the Week

Winter 1938 

THE THIRD EYE OF OSIRIS 

The Bimbashi Baruk receives a message from Sir Denis Nayland Smith asking him to meet him at Sir Lionel Bart’s reception in Aswan. Other guests at the party include the Graf, a clubfooted German; John Solomon; Professor Tör Andersen; and André de Savery. The Graf is really Adolph von Grundt, on whom Desmond Okewood has kept a close eye ever since they met in the Great War. Smith says the Americans have the Ark of the Covenant, which is probably buried in a warehouse somewhere. When Sir Lionel asks Baruk if he knows about the Eye of Osiris, he asks in turn if that was one of John Thorndyke’s cases back in the '20s, involving a jewel. Professor Andersen is really Fu Manchu. The real Andersen was murdered by the Si-Fan. Dr. Petrie has spoken highly of Sir Lionel. Gaston Max confirmed for Smith that the true Andersen’s body was in the Paris sewers where de Savery said it was. In 1905, Smith encountered Hanoi Shan. Fu Manchu, after confirming Sir Lionel is with Smith and the others, says only Dr. Petrie and young Greville are missing. 

Short story by David L. Vineyard in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 14: Coup de Grace, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2017; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 24), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2018. Bimbashi Baruk is from Sax Rohmer’s Bimbashi Baruk of Egypt. Sir Denis Nayland Smith, Sir Lionel Barton (or Bart as he’s called here), Fu Manchu, the Si-Fan, Dr. Petrie, and Shan Greville are from Rohmer’s Fu Manchu novels. Gaston Max appears in his own series of novels by Rohmer; one of these, The Golden Scorpion, has a cameo by an unnamed Fu Manchu. John Solomon’s stories were told by H. Bedford-Jones in several magazines, mainly The Argosy and People’s. André de Savery is an alias of Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman thief Arsène Lupin. Adolph von Grundt and Desmond Okewood are from Valentine Williams’ Clubfoot novels. The American government did seal the Ark of the Covenant in a warehouse after Indiana Jones recovered it, as seen in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. Dr. John Thorndyke encountered a jewel called the Eye of Osiris in R. Austin Freeman’s novel of the same name. Hanoi Shan is from H. Ashton-Wolfe’s Warped in the Making; Philip José Farmer identified him with Fu Manchu in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. 

This crossover writeup is one of over a thousand included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, coming this summer from Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Covers: Sherlock, Lupin & Me

 

In this juvenile detective novel series written by Alessandro Gatti under the pseudonym "Irene Adler," Sherlock Holmes, Irene Adler, and Arsène Lupin solve mysteries together as kids. In the CU, Lupin was born in 1874, twenty years after Holmes and sixteen after Irene, so these books must take place in an AU.

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!

Crossover Cover: Brighter Than the Sun

 

Are you a Sherlock Holmes fan?

Then you'll love Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier's epilogue to their adaptation of this novel, which has a passing Holmes reference!

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!

Crossover of the Week

Summer 1888

THE CASE OF MRS. NORTON 

The former Irene Adler hires Erik’s Opera Ghost Agency (whose current operatives are Ayda Heidari, Ysabel de Ferre, and Hagar Stanley) to determine whether her husband Godfrey Norton is the good man he appears. Appearing or mentioned are the Persian; the Countess de Cagliostro; Liddle, Neal, & Liddle; the King of Bohemia; A. J. Raffles; Professor Moriarty; Sherlock Holmes; Trilby; Coppélius; Spallanzani; Olympia; Irma Vep; Les Vampires; La Marmoset; and Mr. Calhoun. 

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. Irene Adler, her husband Godfrey Norton, and the King of Bohemia are from Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes tale “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Ayda Heidari is the future wife of Bob Ferguson from “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.” Professor Moriarty is Holmes’ greatest foe. Ysabel de Ferre is a foe of detective Sexton Blake. Hagar Stanley is from Fergus Hume’s Hagar of the Pawn-Shop. Josephine Balsamo, the Countess of Cagliostro, is the archenemy of Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman burglar Arsène Lupin. Liddle, Neal, & Liddle is from Arthur Morrison’s Martin Hewitt story “The Case of Laker, Absconded.” A. J. Raffles is E. W. Hornung’s amateur cracksman. Trilby O’Ferrall is from George du Maurier’s Trilby. Coppélius, Spallanzani, and Olympia are from Jacques Offenbach’s opera Tales of Hoffmann. Irma Vep and Les Vampires are from Louis Feuillade’s silent film serial named for the latter. La Marmoset and Mr. Calhoun are from Albert W. Aiken’s “La Marmoset, the Detective Queen; or, The Lost Heir of Morel.” 

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!

Crossover Cover: 642

 

In this epilogue by Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier to their adaptation and translation of Arsène Lupin: 813 by Maurice Leblanc, Dr. Watson explains why Sherlock Holmes falsely claimed not to have solved the riddle of 813 and notes another mystery about the case. Maurice Leblanc, Arsène Lupin’s biographer, notes still another enigma about the affair. Finally, the whole matter is explained by M. Valenglay, the Président du Conseil and a member of the Black Coats, led by Colonel Bozzo-Corona. The Black Coats are featured in novels by Paul Féval. 

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! 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!

The Radium Robbers

 

Fanny Gordon, a young American working for the French Secret Service, must recover radium stolen by Arsène Lupin and his gang. Edith Macvane wrote four stories about Fanny Gordon for McClure’s in 1913-1914. Fanny’s encounter with Lupin brings her into the CU. 

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!

Crossover Cover: Dorothee, Danseuse de Corde

 

Are you a fan of Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin novels?

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!

Crossover of the Week

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!

Crossover Cover: Too Many Detectives

 

Are you a fan of classic detective fiction?

Then you'll love this novel by Kyotaro Nishimura, in which Maigret, Ellery Queen, Hercule Poirot, and Kogoro Akechi battle Arsene Lupin and the Fiend with Twenty Faces!

For more information, be sure to purchase 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!

Crossover of the Week

Autumn 1887 LES VAMPIRES DE PARIS Erik’s Angels of Music (La Marmoset, Sophy Kratides and Unorna) investigate a murder that appears to be the work of a vampire. Appearing or mentioned are: Montsou; Sybil Vane; Mr. Calhoun; Harold Latimer; Wilson Kemp; Sherlock Holmes; Paul Kratides; Scapinelli; Keyork Arabian; the power to cloud men’s minds in the mountain lamaseries of Tibet; strange orchids from the mangrove swamps of the Andaman Islands; the Scroll of Thoth; the Shout; Irene Adler; Trilby O’Ferrall; Christine Daaé; Olympia; Svengali; the Persian; Les Vampires; the Grand Vampire; Vénénos; the Hôtel du Libre Echange; Monsieur Morillon; Frederick Hohner; Ayda Heidari; Count Camille de Rosillon; Pontevedro; Dr. Geneviève Dieudonné; Inspector Raoul d’Aubert; the Black Coats; Sesostris, the Sorceress of Ecbatana; the lost treasure of Monte Cristo; Anatole Garron; Giovanni Jones; Monsieur Rémy; Dorabella; Clarimonde; Geraldine; the Count; Des Esseintes; the Marquis de Coulteray; Joséphine Balsamo; Gravelle; Dr. Michel Falke; Mircalla Karnstein; Abraham Van Helsing; the Princess Addhema; Firmin Richard; Jean Macquart; Simon Buquet; Bernard Hichcock; Patou; Inspecteur Legris; Monsieur Moncharmin; Jacques Rival; Henri Paillardin; Lord Ruthven; Sir Francis Varney; Ezzelin von Klatka; Inspecteur Bec; Chief Magistrate Barrière; and John Seward. Story by Kim Newman in Angels of Music, Titan Books, 2016. Erik, Christine Daaé, the Persian, Monsieur Rémy, Firmin Richard, and Armand Moncharmin are from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. La Marmoset and Mr. Calhoun are from Albert W. Aiken’s story “La Marmoset, the Detective Queen; or, the Lost Heir of Morel.” Sophy Kratides and her brother Paul, Harold Latimer, and Wilson Kemp are from Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes tale “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter.” Irene Adler is from the Holmes story “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Ayda Heidari will later marry Bob Ferguson, as seen in “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.” Unorna and Keyork Arabian are from F. Marion Crawford’s The Witch of Prague. Montsou is from Émile Zola’s novel Germinal. Jean Macquart is from Zola’s La Terre. Sybil Vane is from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Scapinelli is from the movie The Student of Prague. The power to cloud men’s minds was learned in Tibet by the shadowy vigilante. Strange orchids from the mangrove swamps of the Andaman Islands are from H. G. Wells’ “The Flowering of the Strange Orchid.” The Scroll of Thoth is from the 1932 film The Mummy. The Shout is from the British horror film of the same name. Trilby O’Ferrall and Svengali are from George du Maurier’s Trilby. Olympia is from Jacques Offenbach’s opera Tales of Hoffmann. Les Vampires, the Grand Vampire, and Vénénos are from the film serial Les Vampires. The Hôtel du Libre Echange is from Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallières’ play of the same name, as are Bastien Morillon and Henri Paillardin. Frederick Hohner is from the movie The Climax. Count Camille de Rosillon and Pontevedro are from Franz Lehár’s operetta The Merry Widow. Geneviève Dieudonné is from Newman’s Diogenes Club series and has a counterpart in the Anno Dracula Universe. Inspector Raoul d'Aubert and Anatole Garron are from the 1943 film version of The Phantom of the Opera. Simon Buquet is from the 1925 silent version of the novel. The Black Coats are from Paul Féval’s novels. The Princess Addhema is from Féval’s The Vampire Countess. Sesostris, the Sorceress of Ecbatana is from Aldous Huxley’s Crome Yellow. The lost treasure of Monte Cristo is from Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. Giovanni Jones is from the Bugs Bunny cartoon “Long-Haired Hair”; this must be his CU counterpart. Dorabella is the title character of an episode of the 1970s British television series Supernatural. Clarimonde is from Théophile Gautier’s “La Morte Amoureuse.” Geraldine is from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Christabel.” Here, the three female vampires are the Brides of Count Dracula. This story takes place during the events of Stoker’s novel. Abraham Van Helsing and John Seward are from Dracula. Professor Madame Saartje Van Helsing must be Abraham’s second wife; his first, Elizabeth, died in circumstances recounted in the Marvel Comics black-and-white magazine Dracula Lives! Jean des Esseintes is from J.-K. Huysmans’ A Rebours. The Marquis de Coulteray is from Gaston Leroux’s The Bloody Puppet. Joséphine Balsamo is from Maurice Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin novels. Gravelle is from the movie Charlie Chan at the Opera. Dr. Falke is from Johann Strauss II’s operetta Die Fledermaus. The first name Michel is derived from the 1946 film version of the operetta. Mircalla Karnstein is from J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla.” Bernard Hichcock is from the movie The Horrible Dr. Hichcock. Patou, a gendarme, is an ancestor of gendarme Nestor Patou from Marguerite Monnot and Alexandre Breffort’s musical Irma la Douce. Inspecteur Legris is from the movie The Man Who Could Cheat Death. Jacques Rival is from Guy de Maupassant’s Bel-Ami. Lord Ruthven is from John Polidori’s “The Vampyre.” Sir Francis Varney is from James Malcolm Rymer’s Varney the Vampire. Ezzelin von Klatka is from Anonymous’ story “The Mysterious Stranger.” Inspecteur Bec is from the 1986 TV movie adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Paul Barrière is from Cole Porter’s musical Can-Can.

This write-up is one of hundreds included in my forthcoming book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which will be published by the fine folks at Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's books Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Covers: The Year of High Treason

In 1911, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Arsène Lupin, A. J. Raffles, Bunny Manders, Rudolf Rassendyll, Fritz von Tarlenheim, Rupert of Hentzau, Sir Denis Nayland Smith, Dr. Petrie, Fu Manchu, Kâramanèh, the jungle lord, and Michael Strogoff all become embroiled in an affair revolving around King George V’s Coronation Durbar in Delhi, India. Rassendyll and Rupert died in Anthony Hope’s novel Rupert of Hentzau, which takes place in 1890. No explanation is given for their apparent survival. Combined with the revelation Kâramanèh is not only a Tamil whose real name is Kannamma, but a loyal agent of Fu Manchu’s who deceived Petrie, this places Rajan’s novel outside CU continuity.

Crossover Cover: Sherlock Holmes: The Crossovers Casebook

This anthology consists of stories featuring Holmes meeting other historical and fictional characters. One story, "Sherlock Holmes in the Lost World" by Martin Powell, originally appeared in the anthology Gaslight Grimoire, and was included in Volume 1 by Win. It's worth noting that this story references Farmer's theory that Lord John Roxton was the Spider's father. I covered Win's contribution, "The Adventure of the Fallen Stone," in a previous post. Here are the other stories that have Holmes meeting other characters from fiction. In Matthew Baugh's "The Adventure of the Ethical Assassin," Holmes is hired by the King of Bohemia once again, this time to protect him from an assassin. After preventing one such attempt, Holmes discovers the would-be assassin is a member of the Assassination Bureau, Ltd., led by Ivan Dragomilov. The assassin’s weapon is a device invented by the Russian hunter Zaroff. The Bureau and Dragomilov (originally Dragomiloff) are from Jack London’s novel The Assassination Bureau, Ltd., completed posthumously by Robert L. Fish. Zaroff is from Richard Connell’s short story "The Most Dangerous Game." In Christopher Sequeira's "The Scion of Fear," Holmes and Dr. Watson work with Inspector Athelney Jones and Jonathan Small to investigate a pair of attacks apparently committed by an Andaman Islands native like Small’s late confederate Tonga. Watson reveals to Mycroft Holmes the box which once held the Agra treasure has a hidden panel which opens to reveal three yellow diamonds. Mycroft says they are part of a series of four “moonstones” that adorned temple idols in India. He adds the fourth diamond was recovered years ago after much drama. Inspector Jones, Jonathan Small, and Tonga are from the Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of Four. The diamonds are from Wilkie Collins’ novel The Moonstone. In Barbara Hambly's "The Adventure of the Sinister Chinaman," Watson, recovering from an illness, accompanies Holmes to San Francisco, where they become embroiled in an investigation of a Chinese-American magician who has been accused of kidnapping a young girl who was helping him perform a trick. They are aided by another stage magician, Professor Oscar Zoroaster Diggs, who is also a balloonist. Diggs claims to have spent the last forty years in a magical realm, and built a City of Emeralds and done battle with the Wicked Witch of the East and her minions. After the resolution of the case, Watson learns Professor Diggs looked exactly the same when he returned as when he disappeared forty years ago, and concludes the Professor that he and Holmes met was an impostor. He notes the alleged Professor disappeared a year later on another ballooning expedition. Professor O. Z. Diggs is better known as the Wizard of Oz. Of course, the Diggs who disappeared in the 1860s and the one who encountered Holmes and Watson are one and the same. In Matthew Mayo's "The Folly of Flight," Arsène Lupin recruits Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to help him apprehend the murderer of a French aeronaut who has invented a remarkable airship. In Don Roff's "The House on Moreau Street," Holmes is abducted by Augustus Moreau, nephew of the notorious Dr. Moreau, whose beast-men have committed a series of murders in the course of robberies to finance Augustus’ experiments. Edward Prendick brought the elder Moreau’s predations to the public’s attention. Dr. John Thorndyke and Christopher Jervis, investigating the crimes independently from Holmes, wind up working with Dr. Watson to save Holmes. Thorndyke has Nathaniel Polton examine hair samples found at one of the crime scenes. Dr. Moreau and Edward Prendick are from H. G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau. Thorndyke, Jervis, and Polton appear in a series of books by R. Austin Freeman. In Joe Gentile's "The Secret of Grant's Tomb," Holmes and Watson, visiting Inspector Lestrade, are drawn into Professor Van Dusen and his sidekick Hutchinson Hatch’s investigation of the murder of a friend and fellow reporter of Hatch’s. The quartet, along with Lestrade and Inspector Conway, apprehend the culprit, master thief Bradlee Cunnyngham Leighton. Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen and Hutchinson Hatch are featured in the Thinking Machine stories by Jacques Futrelle. Cunnyngham and Conway appear in the Thinking Machine story "Problem of the Missing Necklace." In Martin Gately's "The Petrifying Well," Holmes accepts T. E. “Ned” Lawrence’s request to investigate the bizarre death of a friend’s brother. The planned Maracot expedition to the deep Atlantic is mentioned several times. The Maracot expedition is a reference to Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Maracot Deep, which takes place in 1926. Gately’s story "Rouletabille and the New World Order" explains why the expedition seen in this story (set two years after "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane," which Baring-Gould place in 1909) failed. Christopher Sequeira's other story, "The Adventure of the Lost Specialist," must be an AU. Holmes and Watson do battle with Professor Moriarty, who identifies himself as the stationmaster, and reveals both the Moriarty who Holmes dueled with at Reichenbach and Colonel Moriarty were actually his alternate reality counterparts. Moriarty than unleashes alternate versions of Holmes and Watson on the duo; one pair are meant to be Batman’s foes the Joker and the Penguin, while another pair are Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster. Watson mentions Holmes’ actions in the affair of the depraved Herbert West and the grave-robberies in Essex County, Massachusetts, and also refers to Victor Savage’s uncle, the famous American doctor and adventurer. Given the story takes place in 1903, this most likely refers to the father of a certain bronze-skinned adventurer.

Crossover DVD Cover: Lupin III vs. Detective Conan

Arsène Lupin III and amateur sleuth Shinichi Kudo, aka Conan Edogawa, become involved in an investigation into the death of Queen Sakura and Prince Gill of the kingdom of Vesparand. Conan’s best friend and would-be love interest, Ran Mori, is a dead ringer for Princess Mira. Shinichi (or Jimmy in the English dubbed version) Kudo, aka Conan Edogawa, is from Gosho Aoyama’s manga Detective Conan (aka Case Closed) and its anime adaptation. Philip José Farmer identified Lupin III’s grandfather, Arsène Lupin, as a Wold Newton Family member, and therefore this crossover brings Conan Edogawa into the CU. Lupin and Conan encounter each other again in the film Lupin III vs. Detective Conan: The Movie.

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 of the Week

1898

A PROFESSIONAL MATTER

In 1902, Adam Adamant tells Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson the tale of how Inspector Ganimard recruited him to apprehend Arsène Lupin four years ago. A Collector received a note warning Lupin would rob him of his green paste idol of Princess Hermonthis. Adamant meets Inspector Ledoux at the scene of a murder. The victims are members of the Diogenes Club, in Paris on orders from Mycroft Holmes. The Collector gives a grimoire to Griffin, an invisible English scientist who is currently in league with a cult of Nyarlathotep worshippers. The grimoire was written by Charles le Sorcier, an alchemist and magician, the son of Michel Mauvais. Adamant heard about Nyarlathotep and his follower Pharaoh Nephren-Ka from the Curator at Miskatonic University. Adamant receives a letter from Lupin, revealing the thief had impersonated the real Ledoux, who died in 1879 while hunting the Phantom of the Opera.

Short story by Sam Shook in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 11: Force Majeure, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2014. Adam Adamant is from the 1960s BBC television series Adam Adamant Lives! Sherlock Holmes, his brother Mycroft, Dr. Watson, and the Diogenes Club are from Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. The Collector and the idol of Princess Hermonthis are from Théophile Gautier’s short story “The Mummy’s Foot.” Inspector Ledoux is from the 1925 film version of Gaston Leroux’s novel The Phantom of the Opera. Griffin is from H. G. Wells’ classic science fiction novel The Invisible Man. After escaping Adamant and Lupin’s clutches in this story, Griffin returns to England, where he takes up residence in a private girl’s school, as seen in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume I. Nyarlathotep, Charles le Sorcier, Michel Mauvais, and Nephren-Ka are from the works of H. P. Lovecraft.

Crossover of the Week

1930

THE DEATH OF COUNTESS CAGLIOSTRO

            Faustine gives a young woman a letter from her deceased grandmother, Joséphine Balsamo, the Countess Cagliostro, which explains how she had an illegitimate child, Joseph, the girl’s father, by a circus contortionist, Alexandre “Sandre” Cascabel. The Countess says that if he had gone after the Moonstone, or the Hollow Needle, she could have saved Joseph from his fate, but he instead stole The Brigand’s Painting. The Countess was visited by the Master of the Black Coats (aka the Colonel-Who-Never-Died) and his executioner, the Marchef, who instructed her to kill Joseph. The Colonel says that Joseph is presently being kept in the caves of Palazzio Monteleone. If the Countess kills Joseph, the Colonel will have her taken to Sartene, near the Convent of La Merci, and she will live the rest of her life in peace. The Countess was later visited by her former second-in-command Marga.

            Short story by Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier published as an epilogue in Arsène Lupin vs. Countess Cagliostro by Maurice Leblanc, adapted and translated by Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, Black Coat Press, 2010. Joséphine Balsamo is from Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin novels The Countess of Cagliostro and Countess Cagliostro’s Revenge, both of which are collected in Arsène Lupin vs. Countess Cagliostro. Faustine is also from Countess Cagliostro’s Revenge. The Hollow Needle is from Leblanc’s Lupin novel of the same name. Alexandre “Sandre” Cascabel is from Jules Verne’s novel César Cascabel. Marga Sandorf, the niece of the title character of Verne’s novel Mathias Sandorf, was created by Rick Lai, and appears in his collection Sisters of the Shadows: The Cagliostro Curse. The Moonstone is from Wilkie Collins’ novel of the same name. The Brigand’s Painting, the Colonel-Who-Never-Died (Colonel Bozzo-Corona), the Marchef, the Palazzio Monteleone, and the Convent of La Merci are from the Black Coats novels by Paul Féval. The year is conjecture.

Crossover of the Week

1911

THE LEGACY OF ARSÈNE LUPIN

            Arsène Lupin, disguised as Prince Sernine, tells his biographer Maurice Leblanc a tale involving the Comte de Guy’s ownership of d’Artagnan’s sword, having heard rumors of how the Comte acquired it: “There’s been talk of dealings with the Chinese fence, Hanoi Shan—his path has crossed Lupin’s before—rumors of a murderous thug named Gurn…half-whispered rumors of Cagliostro, Saint-Germain, and the Englishman Barrington, who had defrauded the great Cagliostro of a fortune and the sword; talk that the sword had once been the trust of one Prince Rodolphe; that it was stolen by Colonel Bozzo-Corona or by that young rogue Rocambole; that British cracksman took a shot at it; and there was a suggestion the Devil Doctor in Limehouse had shown an interest; Josephine Balsamo’s name came up…” The sword was brought to Lupin’s attention by the young journalist Rouletabille. The Comte asks Lupin, in his guise as M. Lenormand, head of the Sûreté Nationale, to guard his valuables at a masked ball. Lupin says, “Even old Lecoq might have found himself challenged by this problem!,” and assures the Comte, “The cracksman Bunn is in Perth, by all accounts, and that Englishman Raffles who has plagued Scotland Yard has not been heard of since the Boer War.” The Comte introduces “Lenormand” to his daughter, the Comtesse Emmeline de Guy. Lupin encounters a young boy who calls himself “Stephen Tarleton” and wishes to steal the sword from the Comte. The Comte stores his valuables in a safe made by the Dale company in New York, which the American called the Gray Seal had remarkable luck in cracking. Marie Antoinette’s necklace was stolen by Cagliostro, then in England by George Barrington, the Picaroon, king of the London underworld, and from the Dreux-Soubize family by Lupin himself, as a boy. Lupin recognizes members of Paris’ infamous Vampires and the Union Corse from Marseilles at the ball, as well as deadly enemies of the English cracksman, Cleek.

            Short story by David L. Vineyard in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 11: Force Majeure, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2014. Arsène Lupin, the Dreux-Soubize family, and Josephine Balsamo are from Maurice Leblanc’s novels. The Comte de Guy is one of the many aliases used by Carl Peterson, the archenemy of H.C. “Sapper” McNeile’s adventurer Bulldog Drummond. The Countesse Emmeline is really Carl’s mistress Irma. Hanoi Shan is from H. Ashton-Wolfe’s Warped in the Making: Crimes of Love and Hate. Hanoi Shan encountered Lupin in Vineyard’s story “The Jade Buddha” (Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 5: The Vampires of Paris, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2009.) Gurn is better known as Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre’s villain Fantômas. Count Cagliostro was a historical figure, who also appeared in novels by Alexandre Dumas, and was identified as the founder of a villainous branch of the Wold Newton Family by Philip José Farmer. The Comte de Saint-Germain was also a real person, and has appeared in a number of works of fiction. George Barrington is from Ernest Dudley’s novel Picaroon. Prince Rodolphe is from Eugène Sue’s The Mysteries of Paris. Colonel Bozzo-Corona is the leader of the gang known as the Black Coats in novels by Paul Féval. Rocambole is the villain-turned-hero of novels by Ponson du Terrail. The British cracksman is E.W. Hornung’s A.J. Raffles. The Devil Doctor is Sax Rohmer’s Doctor Fu Manchu, whom Farmer conflated with Hanoi Shan in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Apparently, it is not common knowledge that Fu and Shan are the same person, and doubtless that is how the criminal mastermind prefers it. Rouletabille is a young reporter featured in novels by Gaston Leroux. Lecoq is Emile Gaboriau’s detective. Smiler Bunn is a thief appearing in comedic stories by Bertram Atkey. “Stephen Tarleton” is really Simon Templar, who will later be known as the Saint, the “laughing Robin Hood of crime” created by Leslie Charteris. Lupin thinks that Templar is fourteen years old. In fact, Templar would be ten years old in 1911. The Dale company is owned by Jimmie Dale, aka the Gray Seal, who appears in books by Frank L. Packard. The Vampires are from Louis Feuillade’s silent film serial Les Vampires. The Union Corse is a real organization, but a fictionalized version of the group appears in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Hamilton Cleek, “the man of forty faces,” was the protagonist of books by Thomas W. Hanshew.

Crossover Cover: The Cabinet of Curiosities

F.B.I. Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast investigates a series of killings that ultimately prove to be the work of his great-grand-uncle Antoine Leng Pendergast, aka Enoch Leng. Among the items in Leng’s cabinet of curiosities is a giant rat from Sumatra. Archaeologist Nora Kelly also appears.

The giant rat from Sumatra is an implicit connection to the Sherlock Holmes stories. Calpurnia Pendergast, a relative of Aloysius, appears in Matthew Ilseman’s Arsène Lupin story “A Theft of China,” confirming Agent Pendergast’s inclusion in the CU. Nora Kelly first appeared in Preston and Child’s novel Thunderhead, which also featured reporter Bill Smithback, a supporting character from the Pendergast books. With this novel, Nora becomes a supporting character in the series as well. Most of Preston and Child’s other collaborations are also connected to the Pendergast series by recurring characters, including Mount Dragon, The Ice Limit, and the Gideon Crew series, which so far consists of Gideon’s Sword and Gideon’s Corpse.