Crossover of the Week

Autumn 1888-Winter 1892

THE PHANTOM MASQUERADE 

Appearing or mentioned are: the Phantom of Truth; Baptiste Severn; the Repairer of Reputations (aka Jean Grimoire and Johann Grimm); Carcosa; the King in Yellow; Thomas Fane (aka the Pallid Mask, Sir George Burnwell, and Fantômas); the Yellow Sign; Dr. Antonio Nikola; Maître de Grandin; Cardec; Le Roi en Jaune; the Lake of Hali; Joseph Clampin; the Black Coats; Professor Hern; Verschwinden und Seine Theorie; End House; Appledorn; Captain Tobias; Morryster’s Marvells of Science; Trauvells in Ye Easte; Parapelius Necromantius; Joseph de Quincey; Lionel Dacre; Mary Holder; the Saaamaaa Ritual; Yian; John Clay; the Sigsand Manuscript; Emile Le Brun; Cassilda; Boris Yvain; Juve; the Red Offering; the Disposer of Souls; the Thirteenth Covenant; Hendrika Pienaar; Colonel Beltham; Orianne Coyatier; Thomas Carnacki; the Shrine of Erlik; and the Scarlet Lake. 

Short story by Rick Lai 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. The Phantom of Truth, Severn, the Repairer of Reputations, Carcosa, the King in Yellow, the Yellow Sign, Le Roi en Jaune, the Lake of Hali, Cassilda, and Boris Yvain are from Robert W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow. Jean Grimoire is an alias for John Grimlan from Robert E. Howard’s “Dig Me No Grave.” “Thomas Fane” is Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre’s villain Fantômas. Inspector Juve is one of Fantômas’ greatest foes. Hendrika Pienaar is the Lord of Terror’s unnamed Boer wife mentioned in The Daughter of Fantômas. Her surname suggests she is related to Peter Pienaar, Richard Hannay’s Boer friend in John Buchan’s novels. Colonel Beltham, aka Lord Edward Beltham, is also from the Fantômas books. Sir George Burnwell and Mary Holder are from Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes tale “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet.” John Clay is from “The Adventure of the Red-Headed League.” Le Brun is from “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client.” Although his first name is given as Emile here, Matthew Ilseman’s “A Theft of China” has it as Anton. Perhaps his full name is Anton-Emile Le Brun. Dr. Antonio Nikola is Guy Boothby’s criminal scientist. Maître de Grandin is Dr. Jules de Grandin’s grandfather mentioned in Seabury Quinn’s “Clair de Lune.” Cardec is from Marie-François Goron and Emile Gautier’s Spawn of the Penitentiary. Joseph “Pistolet” Clampin and the Black Coats are from Paul Féval’s novels. Orianne Coyatier is the granddaughter of Jean-François Coyatier, aka the Marchef, the bodyguard and executioner of the Black Coats’ leader, the Colonel. Professor Hern and Verschwinden und Seine Theorie are from Ambrose Bierce’s “Mysterious Disappearances.” End House, Appledorn, Captain Tobias, the Saaamaaa Ritual, the Sigsand Manuscript, and Thomas Carnacki are from William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder. Morryster’s Marvells of Science is from Bierce’s “The Man and the Snake,” and is also mentioned in H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Festival.” Trauvells in Ye Easte is from Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictionary. Parapelius Necromantius is from Bierce’s “Beyond the Wall.” Joseph de Quincey is from Evangeline Walton’s Witch House. Lionel Dacre is from Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Leather Funnel.” Yian and the Kuen-Yuin Oath are from Chambers’ The Maker of Moons. The Red Offering is from Lin Carter’s story of that name. The Disposer of Souls is Zukala, from a series of poems by Howard. The Thirteenth Covenant is from Robert Bloch’s “The Mannikin.” The Shrine of Erlik and the Scarlet Lake are from Chambers’ The Slayer of Souls. The Dark Star of Yrimid is from Chambers’ The Dark Star and The Slayer of Souls.

This crossover writeup is one of over a thousand appearing 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 Cover: Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Volume 12

 

This anthology includes three stories with crossovers.

In I. A. Watson's "The Nottingham Crakster," Holmes is visited by a police inspector who seeks a gem belonging to Lord Roger Roxton, which has been stolen by criminal and “crakster” (a Northern slang expression for a trickster) Jemmy Wilson, and which he believes Holmes himself has stolen. Holmes deduces that the so-called policeman is in fact Wilson himself. A footnote to this story suggests that Lord Roger Roxton may be the father of Lord John Roxton from Doyle and Malone’s The Lost World and other Professor Challenger tales. To square this with Philip José Farmer’s genealogy for Lord John in Tarzan Alive, we must conclude that “Lord Roger Roxton” is a Watsonian pseudonym for George Wimsey, the 14th Duke of Denver, Lord John’s adoptive father. Obviously, Edward D. Malone used the same coded surname as Watson in his written accounts of his, Roxton, and Challenger’s exploits. Jemmy Wilson is from Doyle’s “Selecting a Ghost: The Ghosts of Goresthorpe Grange.”

In Barbara Doran's "The Adventure of the Counterfeit Secretary," Holmes and Watson team with Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, aka the Thinking Machine, and his companion journalist Hutchinson Hatch to thwart sabotage of the Berlin International Trade Exposition. Professor Van Dusen and Hutchinson Hatch are from Jacques Futrelle’s detective stories and novels. 

In Brad Mengel's "The Adventure of the Stolen Tattoo," Watson has dinner with Dr. Stamford and his new wife, who honeymooned in Australia, where they were robbed by the bushranger known as the Stingaree. During the Second Opium War, a chap by the name of Flashman came by the Barrington house and told Richard Francis Barrington’s mother of her husband’s death. The Stingaree is from E. W. Hornung’s Irralie’s Bushranger and Stingaree. Flashman is Harry Flashman, whose service in the Second Opium War is described in George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman and the Dragon.

These crossovers are among over a thousand covered 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 Cover: The Devil's Dust

 

Sherlock Holmes’ latest case brings he and Dr. Watson into contact with Allan Quatermain and Umslopogaas, who are trying to discover the true circumstances of the death of Quatermain’s son Harry. Quatermain talks about his encounter with Ayesha, She Who Must Be Obeyed. Holmes and Quatermain have never met before, and Holmes denies being related to Quatermain’s friend Lady Ragnall, nee Luna Holmes. Both these details differ from Thomas Kent Miller’s various Holmes/Quatermain crossover pastiches, which have been included in the CU. Also, Lovegrove’s version of Quatermain brags about his abilities, the opposite of the humble and self-effacing character H. Rider Haggard portrayed. Consequently, I consider this novel an AU.

This novel is one of over a thousand crossovers covered 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: Dept. of Monsterology: Sabbaticals

 

At Dunsany College, Professor Booker’s secretary, Mrs. Chandrasekeran, tells a caller that he is not in, and tries to remember where Emma Hampton is on an expedition with one of Dunsany’s field teams, naming the Leng Plateau and Westchester House as possible sites. Team Carnacki is in Scotland, while Team Challenger is on an expedition in South America, on a plateau inhabited by dinosaurs. Javier de Tovar refers to the Yiggian digs in North Africa and Sardinia. The Plateau of Leng is from H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos stories. Westchester House is from the titular scenario for the role-playing game Call of Cthulhu. Team Carnacki is named for Thomas Carnacki from William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder. The South American plateau must be Maple White Land, which was discovered by Team Challenger’s namesake Professor George Edward Challenger in Doyle and Malone’s The Lost World. Yig is from Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop’s “The Curse of Yig” and “The Mound.”

This crossover is one of over a thousand covered 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 Cover: Moonbreaker

 

Are you an Arthur Conan Doyle fan?

Then you may enjoy this entry in Simon R. Green's Secret Histories series, which has a nod to Professor Challenger, among other crossovers!

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!

Crossover Cover: And Such Small Deer

 

In this story by Chris Roberson, Abraham Van Helsing battles the Giant Rat of Sumatra on a plantation owned by the Netherland-Sumatra Company and run by Baron de Maupertuis. Culverton Smith and the ship Matilda Briggs also appear, as do Dr. Moreau, Frédéric Lerne, and Max Havelaar. Abraham Van Helsing is from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The Giant Rat of Sumatra and the Matilda Briggs are from Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes tale “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.” The Netherland-Sumatra Company and Baron Maupertuis are from “The Adventure of the Reigate Squire.” Culverton Smith is from “The Adventure of the Dying Detective.” Dr. Moreau is from H. G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau. Frédéric Lerne is the title character of Maurice Renard’s Doctor Lerne. Max Havelaar is from the eponymous novel by “Multatuli” (Eduard Douwes Dekker).

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 of the Week

October 1885

THE HOUND OF THE D’URBERVILLES

            Professor Moriarty and Colonel Moran are hired by Jasper Stoke-d‘Urberville, nephew of Simon Stoke-d’Urberville, to kill Red Shuck, the spectral hound that has allegedly haunted the d’Urberville family for generations. Appearing or mentioned are: the village of Trantridge; the Chase; Simon’s son Alexander; Theresa “Tess” Durbeyfield-Clare; Tess’ son Sorrow and siblings Abraham and Modesty; the city of Wintoncester; Selden; Desperado Dan’l; a terrifying Fat Man in Whitehall; Doctor Jack Quartz; Dr. Nikola; the Si-Fan; the Lord of Strange Deaths; the Grand Vampire; Les Vampires; Wessex; Diggory Venn; Parson Tringham; Car Darch; Sir Pagan d’Urberville; Melchester; Lord John Roxton; Casterbridge; the Ranee of Ranchipur; Blind Herder; Arnsworth Castle; Jim Lassiter; John Durbeyfield; the parish of Kingsbere; Sherton Abbas; Singapore Charlie; Marlott Churchyard; and Elizabeth-Louise Durbeyfield.

            Short story by Colonel Sebastian Moran, edited by Kim Newman in Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the d’Urbervilles, Titan Books, 2011. The village of Trantridge, Simon Stoke-d’Urberville, the Chase, Simon’s son Alexander, Theresa “Tess” Durbeyfield-Clare, Sorrow Durbeyfield, Abraham Durbeyfield, Modesty Durbeyfield, the city of Wintoncester, Parson Tringham, Car Darch, Sir Pagan d’Urberville, John Durbeyfield, the parish of Kingsbere, Marlott Churchyard, and Elizabeth-Louise (or Eliza-Louisa) Durbeyfield are from Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Diggory Venn is from Hardy’s novel The Return of the Native. Wessex is a fictional region of England that appears in most of Hardy’s novels. Melchester is from Hardy’s Two on a Tower and Jude the Obscure. Casterbridge is from Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge. Sherton Abbas is from Hardy’s The Woodlanders. Selden is from Doyle and Watson’s The Hound of the Baskervilles. The terrifying Fat Man in Whitehall is Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brother. Blind Herder is the blind mechanic Von Herder from the Holmes story “The Adventure of the Empty House.” “The Arnsworth Castle business” is an untold Holmes case mentioned in “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Desperado Dan’l is inspired by (though not the same person as) the British comic book cowboy Desperate Dan. Doctor Jack Quartz is the arch nemesis of dime novel detective Nick Carter. Dr. Nikola is from the series of novels by Guy Boothby. The Si-Fan and Singapore Charlie are from the Fu Manchu novels by Sax Rohmer; the Lord of Strange Deaths is Fu Manchu himself. Les Vampires are from the titular film serial directed by Louis Feuillade, as is their leader, the Grand Vampire. Lord John Roxton is from Doyle’s Professor Challenger stories. Ranchipur is from the film The Rains of Ranchipur. Jim Lassiter is from the novel Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey. The month is given, but the year is conjecture based on the facts Moran has worked for Moriarty for some time and Selden is next seen as an escaped convict in 1888.

Crossover Cover: The Green Flag

The titular story in this collection by Arthur Conan Doyle has a connection to the Sherlock Holmes canon. In it, the Royal Mallows, an Irish regiment, fights to protect a green Fenian flag during the Mahdist War. In “The Adventure of the Crooked Man,” Sherlock Holmes investigates the death of Colonel Barclay, the former commander of the fictional Royal Mallows, which is replaced with the real Royal Munsters in many American editions. The Holmes connection brings the events of “The Green Flag” into the CU.

Crossover of the Week

December 1896

CUT THE BRANCH

Appearing or mentioned are: the Black Coats; Joséphine Balsamo; the House of Crafts; Dr. Antonio Nikola; Catarina Corbucci; Count Salvatore Corbucci; Professor James Moriarty; Madame Fourneau’s College for Young Women; Norman Head; Noel Moriarty; Irina Putine; the Chupin Detective Agency; Urania Caber; the golden ram crest of the Cagliostro family; the Gentlemen of the Night; Orianne Coyatier; Rochelle Moreau; Ramirez; Professor Chavain; Madame Sara (aka Sarah Warrender); Colleen Pegler; the White Lodge; Frank Moran; Colonel Sebastian Moran; Patrick Dickson; Hamish Webb; Stangerson’s Disassociation of Matter Through Electricity; the Brotherhood of the Seven Kings; Gordo Reloj; Pilar; Aguilar; the All-Father; Dominick Moriarty; Marga Sandorf; Aristide Orlowsky Sandorf; Baron Von Schulenberg; Manny Bennet; Solly Bennet; Corben Caine; Wilmot Rogers; Jefferson Gonzales; the Lanky Gunman; the Yankee Whistler; a friend of Gordo’s; Dupont-Verdier (aka Satanas); Jillian Blake; Leonard; Etienne Cressy Raimond D’Arcourt; Sharita; the Duchy of Strackenz; the Thuggee cult’s alliance with Naga worshippers; Achmet Genghis Khan; Gruesome Clayton; Carfax Abbey; Dracula; and Ballmeyer.

Short story by Rick Lai in Sisters of the Shadows: The Cagliostro Curse, Black Coat Press, 2013. The Black Coats are a criminal conspiracy featured in novels by Paul Féval. Orianne Coyatier is the granddaughter of Jean-François Coyatier (aka the Marchef), who acted as the Black Coats’ executioner. The All-Father is the leader of the Black Coats. The Gentlemen of the Night are from Féval’s The Mysteries of London. Joséphine Balsamo battled Arsène Lupin in Maurice Leblanc’s The Countess of Cagliostro. Leonard is also from that novel. The House of Crafts is an allusion to the criminal organization known as Krafthaus in John Buchan’s The Power-House. Dr. Antonio Nikola is a scientist and criminal mastermind featured in novels by Guy Boothby. Catarina Corbucci is meant to be Madame Koluchy from L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace’s The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings. Norman Head is also from Meade and Eustace’s novel. Madame Sara is from Meade and Eustace’s The Sorceress of the Strand; her alias of Sarah Warrender is meant to imply she is the mother of Miss Warrender from Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Uncle Jeremy’s Household.” Achmet Genghis Khan was identified as Miss Warrender’s father in Doyle’s tale. Count Salvatore Corbucci dueled with A. J. Raffles in E. W. Hornung’s “The Fate of Faustina” and “The Last Laugh.” Professor James Moriarty is Sherlock Holmes’ archenemy. Noel Moriarty (whose full name is James Noel Moriarty) is the Professor’s younger brother mentioned in The Valley of Fear. Colonel Sebastian Moran is Professor Moriarty’s second-in-command from “The Adventure of the Empty House.” In The Power-House, the Krafthaus’ leader Andrew Lumley lives in a house called the White Lodge; the implication of the White Lodge reference in Lai’s story is Lumley is actually Noel Moriarty. Madame Fourneau’s College for Young Women is from the Spanish horror film La Residencia. Irina Putine is an alias for Irene Tupin from the same film. Professor Chavain is based on Madame Fourneau’s reference to her former student, a noted botanist. The Chupin Detective Agency, run by Victor “Toto” Chupin, is from the works of Emile Gaboriau. Urania Caber is meant to be Urania Moriarty, the Professor’s daughter, whose existence was revealed by Philip José Farmer in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Jillian Blake is based on a reference to a Jill Fagin who married a Blake in Farmer’s book. The golden ram crest of the Cagliostro family is from the animated Lupin III film The Castle of Cagliostro. Rochelle Moreau is the daughter of H. G. Wells’ Dr. Moreau and the niece of Bernard Moreau, who is mentioned in La Residencia. Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez is from the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. “Colleen Pegler” is an alias for Peg Cullane from Louis L’Amour’s The Man Called Noon. Frank Moran is Francis “Colt” Moran from the film Today It’s Me…Tomorrow You! Patrick Dickson is meant to be Tricky the Gambler from the movie The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe. Hamish Webb is meant to be James Webb from the movie Black Killer. Stangerson’s Disassociation of Matter Through Electricity is from Gaston Leroux’s first Rouletabille novel, The Mystery of the Yellow Room. Ballmeyer is Rouletabille’s father. Gordo Reloj is meant to be Gordo Watch from the film Arizona Colt (aka The Man from Nowhere); “reloj”is Spanish for “watch.” Pilar and Aguilar are from the film A Stranger in Town. Dominick Moriarty is meant to be Dominick Medina from John Buchan’s The Three Hostages. Marga Sandorf is the niece of the title character of Jules Verne’s novel Mathias Sandorf. Aristide Orlowsky Sandorf is meant to be the Hungarian villain Orlowsky from the movie Django Strikes Again. Baron Von Schulenberg is from the movie The Big Gundown. Manny Bennet is meant to be Manuel from the film Cemetery Without Crosses. Corben Caine and Wilmot Rogers are Ben Caine and Will Rogers from the same film. Solly Bennet is Solomon “Beauregard” Bennet from the movie Face to Face. Jefferson Gonzales is from the film Ringo and His Golden Pistol. The Lanky Gunman is Hank “Lanky” Fellows from the movie A Taste for Killing. The Yankee Whistler is the title character of the movie Yankee. Gordo’s friend is Frank Talby from the movie Day of Anger. Satanas is from Louis Feuillade’s film serial Les Vampires; in the English language translation of the serial, Satanas’ real name is given as Claude Dupont-Verdier. Etienne Cressy Raimond D’Arcourt and Sharita are from Gardner F. Fox’s novel Woman of Kali. The Duchy of Strackenz is from George MacDonald Fraser’s Royal Flash; here, it is implied to be the same country as the Duchy of Cagliostro from The Castle of Cagliostro. The alliance between the Thuggee and Naga worshippers is from Emilio Salgari’s Sandokan novels. Gruesome Clayton is Sir William Clayton from Farmer’s Tarzan Alive and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Carfax Abbey is from Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

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 Cover: The Avenger: The Sun King

This novel by my fellow New Wold Newton Meteoritic Society member Matthew Baugh pits the Avenger against the German pulp hero Sun Koh, sometimes described as "the Nazi Doc Savage." There are several other crossover references. Since Sun Koh is an Atlantean prince, there are a number of references to other works involving Atlantis, such as Arthur Conan Doyle's The Maracot Deep and Robert E. Howard's Kull stories. Nellie Gray's father, an archaeologist, was friends with several of his peers, including Dr. Littlejohn of a university in Massachusetts (William Harper "Johnny" Littlejohn, one of Doc Savage's aides, whom Farmer identified with Professor William Dyer of Miskatonic University from Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness"), Dr. Jones of a small but prestigious university in New Jersey (Indiana Jones), and Professor Smith of Cambridge, who smuggled dissidents out of Nazi Germany (Professor Horatio Smith from the movie Pimpernel Smith.) The other crossovers will be covered in my writeup in the books.

Crossover Cover: Professor Challenger: New Worlds, Lost Places

This anthology of new stories featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger includes several crossovers. In Lawrence C. Connolly's "King of the Moon," Bedford, Challenger, Ann Cavor and a pair of father-and-son inventors rescue Ann’s uncle from the Selenites. Bedford, Dr. Cavor, and the Selenites are from H.G. Wells’ The First Men in the Moon, which is described as having taken place ten years ago. Bedford implies here that he is the one who put Challenger in contact with Arthur Conan Doyle. Challenger must have introduced Doyle in turn to Edward Malone. Doyle became Malone’s literary agent and editor, publishing the reporter’s accounts of his adventures with Challenger under his own byline. In Josh Reynolds' "Time's Black Gulf," Professor Summerlee, Lord John Roxton, Malone, and Thomas Carnacki battle Indrid Cold and other members of his race, who are part of a conspiracy to infiltrate the human race at every stage of its evolution along with an alien race that has swapped Challenger’s consciousness with that of one of their own people. Challenger has copies of Cultes des Goules and Unaussprechlichen Kulten. Carnacki refers to the Sigsand Manuscripts, the Book of Eibon, the Pnakotic texts, the Florentine monk Corsi, and Khephnes. The Tind’Losi, the Hounds of the Angles, appear. Dr. John Silence and Jessie Challenger ultimately save the day. Thomas Carnacki and the Sigsand Manuscripts are from William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki the Ghost-Finder. Indrid Cold is a supposedly real person connected to the Mothman sightings of 1966-1967. Here, he is also a member of the race of creatures seen in H.P. Lovecraft’s "The Festival." This version of Cold also appears in Reynolds’ stories "The Pnakotic Puzzle" and "The Yoth Protocols." "The Pnakotic Puzzle” indicates that this story happened “some years before the war.” The consciousness-swapping alien race is the Great Race of Yith from Lovecraft’s "The Shadow Out of Time."Bartolomeo Corsi and Khephnes are also from "The Shadow Out of Time." The Cultes des Goules is a Cthulhu Mythos tome created by Robert Bloch. Unaussprechlichen Kulten is a Mythos tome created by Robert E. Howard. The Book of Eibon is from Clark Ashton Smith’s contributions to the Mythos. The Pnakotic texts are a reference to Lovecraft’s Pnakotic Manuscripts. The Tind’Losi are from Frank Belknap Long’s story "The Hounds of Tindalos." Dr. John Silence is an occult detective featured in stories by Algernon Blackwood. In John Takis' "The Crystal Minders," Challenger suggests that a scientist has "invented a machine capable of traveling through time, like that loon in Surrey, have you?" “That loon in Surrey” is the Time Traveler from H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. This story is primarily narrated by Professor Summerlee, though a framing sequence narrated by Edward Malone involves Summerlee coming to the reporter to tell him of the adventure. Malone refers to the events of “The Disintegration Machine” in passing as a past event. This creates a chronological conflict, as Rick Lai’s essay “The Anomaly of Professor Challenger’s Daughter” (Rick Lai’s Secret Histories: Daring Adventurers, Altus Press, 2008) places both “The Disintegration Machine” and The Land of Mists in 1926. According to The Land of Mists, Summerlee died “last year,” i.e., in 1925. Therefore, the reference to “The Disintegration Machine” must be obfuscation on Malone’s part, similar to Dr. Watson providing false dates in his accounts of Sherlock Holmes’ cases. In Andrew J. Wilson's "Out of the Depths," set in 1937, Challenger and Malone encounter Nazis in Maple White Land. Hobbs Lane is from the British television science fiction serial Quatermass and the Pit, although there it is located in Knightsbridge, rather than Kensington. Doctor Moreau is from H.G. Wells’ novel The Island of Doctor Moreau. The Lidenbrock Sea is from Jules Verne’s novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Medusa Von Juntz is related to Friedrich Von Juntz from Robert E. Howard’s “The Black Stone.” Doctor Moreau is revealed to have been Jack the Ripper, placing this story outside CU continuity. In Guy Adams and James Goss' "Professor Challenger and the Crimson Wonder," Challenger and his wife have a run-in with aliens who are planning to overrun the world with a remarkable plant. Mycroft Holmes is Sherlock Holmes’ brother. Lidenbrock is Otto Lidenbrock from Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Cavor is from Wells’ The First Men in the Moon, as previously stated. Abner Perry is from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Pellucidar novels. William Dyer is from H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness.” Herbert is meant to be the Time Traveler from Wells’ novel. Herakleophorbia IV, Bensington, and Miss Cossar’s brother are from Wells’ novel The Food of the Gods. Ryland and the Great Four are from Agatha Christie’s novel The Big Four. The meteorite that landed in Woking in 1898 is from Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds. This story is too overtly satirical to fit easily into CU continuity. Also, Poirot moved to England in 1916, so the portrayal of him as an agent of Mycroft Holmes in 1914 is chronologically incorrect.