Crossover of the Week

Summer 1940

WALKING ON FOREIGN GROUND, LIKE A SHADOW 

Judex travels to New York at the request of Kent Allard, the Shadow, whose parents were friends with Judex’s mother, Julia Orsini. A gangster named Tony Rico has learned the Shadow possesses the twin jewels of the Russian Czar. Rico received information on the Shadow from his old foe Benedict Stark. The Shadow asks Judex to impersonate him, with Mary Gillespie, the owner of the Gillespie Circus and the daughter of Colonel Gillespie, posing as Margo Lane. Rico is chauffeured by a man named Otero. Learning about Stanford Marshall, aka the Black Tiger, Rico killed him and stole his invisibility belt, invented by a pair of scientists named Stanford and Van Dorn. Rico also targeted Professor Adam Strang, who read Reggie Ogden novels, and was involved in a caper with a criminal engineer called Sparks who created a machine to kill people by radio control, based on television technology invented by a Dr. Houghland. Judex meets with Mary Gillespie at Rusterman’s. Mary has an ex-husband named Jim. “Rainbow” Benny Loomis likes to hang out at Rusterman’s. Loomis tells Judex and Mary that Rico thinks he’s the new Enrico Bandello, and his birth name is Chris Jorgenson. A wounded Mary says her uncle Leonard will treat her. The Shadow saw Judex with his wife Jacqueline, and felt his loneliness deepen. 

Short story by Atom Mudman Bezecny in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 17: Noblesse Oblige, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2020; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 29), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2022. Judex and his wife, the former Jacqueline Aubry, are from Louis Feuillade’s film serial Judex. Arthur Bernède’s novelization of the serial identified Judex’s mother, the Comtesse de Tremeuse, as the former Julia Orsini. The shadowy pulp hero and his companion need no introduction. The vigilante battled Stark, the so-called “Prince of Evil,” in four novels by Theodore Tinsley. Tony Rico is from the 1933 film The Shadow Laughs. Bezecny identifies Rico with Chris Jorgenson from Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man; in the film adaptation, Jorgenson was played by Cesar Romero, the same actor who played Tony Rico. Mary Gillespie, her father the Colonel, her ex-husband Jim Quinn, and the Gillespie Circus are from the 1937 film The Shadow. Otero and Enrico Bandello are from the movie Little Caesar. The Black Tiger is from the 1940 serial The Shadow. Stanley Stanfield and Professor Carl Van Dorn are from the serial The Vanishing Shadow. Professor Adam Anton Strang and Sparks are from the serial The Whispering Shadow. Reggie Ogden is from the 1933 movie The Shadow. Dr. James Houghland is from the movie Murder by Television. Rusterman’s is from Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe novels. “Rainbow” Benny Loomis is from the movie Shadow of the Thin Man. Except for the 1940 serial, none of the films with “Shadow” in the title involve Walter Gibson’s pulp hero. Dr. Leonard Gillespie is from Max Brand’s Dr. Kildare stories. Although this case is dated to 1928, the shadowy hero began his crimefighting career in 1929, and his four battles with Stark took place in 1939, and so I would place it in the early 1940s instead. 

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 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: The Land of Everlasting Gloom

 

Are you a Paul Feval fan?

Then you'll love this novel in Frank Schildiner's Napoleon's Vampire Hunters series, which has connections to three of Feval's books, among other crossovers!

For more information, be sure to pick up 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 of the Week

Summer 1936

THE FROST WOLF 

Harry Dickson meets with Prime Minister Caius Keyes and his wife Angelique. Keyes introduces Dickson to Doctor Omega and Captain Gullivar Jones. An object like a comet or meteor has crashed in Clapham Common, which Keyes initially assumed was a precursor to an alien invasion, being as familiar with the historical works of H. G. Wells as anyone. Omega says he is aware of a dog-like wolf with human-level intelligence which manifests itself at certain points in history, calling it the Hound of the Baskervilles, the Hound of Death, and the Beast of Gevaudan. Dickson has enough firearms to equip a fair-sized dinosaur-hunting party to the Lost World. Omega describes lights they see as the Aether’s spatio-temporal vortex. The inhabitant of the crashed time machine, injured from the mesonychid wolf’s attack, identifies himself as Heracles Danby. The injured Omega, Jones, and Danby, as well as another man, are treated in a high dependency ward run by a Dr. Mannering from Cardiff. The third man’s belongings bear the legend Catharus Mine, while his dog tags identify him as Adam Oberstein. Dickson witnesses a scene of horror that reminds him of the Miller’s Court Triptych painted by Walter Sickert depicting the death of the final victim of Jack the Ripper that he had been shown back when he was a member of the Roebuck Cabal. The Prime Minister says he used to be part of the Home Office’s elite Gordian Squad, but Dickson thinks that surely one of the Great Men of Baker Street or Rouletabille would have told him about it. The Frost Wolf is killed by Pandora, who is accompanied by Liandra Ritter and her son Kulath Jr., who refers to Danby as “grandfather.” Omega warns Dickson about Total Security Management and the Cull Men. 

Short story by Martin Gately in Exquisite Pandora and Other Fantastic Adventures, Black Coat Press, 2020. Harry Dickson appeared in pulp stories by Jean Ray and others. Caius Keyes, Angelique Datura, and the Gordian Squad first appeared in Gately’s “The White Box.” Doctor Omega is the title character of Arnould Galopin’s science fiction novel. Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier’s translation of that book identified Omega with Doctor Who. The lights are the Time Vortex from Doctor Who. Gullivar Jones is from Edwin L. Arnold’s Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation. The H. G. Wells reference evokes The War of the Worlds. The wolf first appeared in Gately’s “Wolf at the Door of Time.” The Hound of the Baskervilles is from the titular Sherlock Holmes novel. The Hound of Death is from Agatha Christie’s story of the same name. The Lost World is from Arthur Conan Doyle’s eponymous book. Heracles Danby, Liandra Ritter, and Kulath Sr. are from Gately’s “The Cataclysm Will Not Be Televised.” Dr. Frank Mannering is from the movie Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. The Catharus Mine is from Gately’s “Rouletabille and the New World Order,” and is associated with the Catharus Society, a precursor to THRUSH from the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Adam Oberstein is related to spy Hugo Oberstein from Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes tales “The Adventure of the Second Stain” and “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans.” The Roebuck Cabal is from Gately’s eponymous story. As established in Gately’s stories about Gaston Leroux’s journalist and detective Rouletabille, the Great Men of Baker Street are Sherlock Holmes, Sexton Blake, Seaton Begg (from the works of Michael Moorcock), and Victor Drago (from the British comic book Tornado). Pandora is from Gately’s “Exquisite Pandora.” Total Security Management and the Cull Men appear in another story by Gately, “The Unfettered Man,” set in one of the many possible futures for the CU. 

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!

Bonus Crossover of the Week (RIP Rick Lai)

Autumn 1866

THE TOMB OF THE VEILED PROPHET 

Anis-ed-Dowleh, the Shah of Persia’s favorite wife, shows Haji Abdu, the Daroga of the Secret Police, the corpse of a handmaiden allegedly murdered by Erik, the court illusionist. Erik mentioned to the Shah’s spouse he had been trained to kill with the Punjabi lasso by the deposed Maharani of Pankot. Haji Abdu and Erik discuss the rebel leader Mokanna, whose cult was led by Abd Dhulma after his death. Erik shows the Daroga a map he acquired in the mountain citadel Yolgan, which has the words, “The Lord of the Empty Abode,” “The Lord of Illusion,” and “The Lord of the Fourth Axis” written on it. Mokanna appears to the duo, saying they have resurrected him by summoning the Three Avatars of Yog-Sothoth. Mokanna names the sorcerers of Lemuria and Attluma, including Thulsa Doom, Kathulos, Rotath, Mardanax, and Descales, each of whom performed the Black Litany to infuse their souls with the Torch Fire of Nug. Erik’s nom de guerre is derived from Erlik of the Dark Star, whom Mokanna describes as a minor entity eclipsed by the cosmic splendor of the Lord of the Fourth Axis and his twin spawn, Nug and Yeb. Mokanna evokes the Moon of Yian, saying Nug demands a Red Offering in exchange for bestowing his Torch Fire upon Erik. 

Short story by Rick Lai in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 12: Carte Blanche, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2015; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 20), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2017. Haji Abdu is from Sir Richard Francis Burton’s poem “The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî.” He is also mentioned in Philip José Farmer’s authorized Doc Savage novel Escape from Loki. Lai conflates Haji Abdu with the Persian from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. Erik is the title character of that book. Pankot is from the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Mokanna is from “The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan,” the first of four poems in Thomas Moore’s collection Lalla-Rookh, as well as Sax Rohmer’s The Mask of Fu Manchu. Abd Dhulma is from G. G. Pendarves’ “Abd Dhulma, Lord of Fire.” Yolgan is from Robert E. Howard’s El Borak stories. The Lord of the Empty Abode is the title of Yog in Robert E. Howard’s Conan story “Shadows in Zamboula.” “The Lord of Illusion” and “The Lord of the Fourth Axis” are stories by E. Hoffmann Price. Here, the three Lords are all avatars of Yog-Sothoth, one of the Great Old Ones of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Attluma and Descales are from the works of David C. Smith. Thulsa Doom is from Howard’s Kull tale “The Cat and the Skull.” Kathulos is from Howard’s “Skull-Face” and “Taverel Manor,” the latter completed posthumously by Richard A. Lupoff. Rotath is from the Kull story “The Curse of the Golden Skull.” Mardanax is from Lin Carter’s Thongor novels. Nug and Yeb are from various Lovecraft collaborations: “Out of the Aeons” (co-written by Hazel Heald), “The Mound” (coauthored by Zealia Bishop), and “The Last Test” (co-penned by Adolph de Castro). The Black Litany of Nug and Yeb is from Joseph S. Pulver’s poem of the same name. Erlik of the Dark Star is from Robert W. Chambers’ The Dark Star. The Moon of Yian is from Chambers’ “The Maker of Moons.” The Red Offering is from Lin Carter’s Cthulhu Mythos story of the same name. 

As I wrote on Facebook yesterday, RIP my friend Rick Lai, an amazing human and writer. In the 1980s, he wrote articles expanding on the Wold Newton concepts of Philip Jose Farmer and continued it after the Wold Newton websites began appearing with Win Scott Eckert’s in 1997. He broke into fiction writing beginning with the story “The Last Vendetta” in the first TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN anthology, and consistently turned out quality work. I am honored to have had my first published story in close proximity to his contribution in the last TALES. I was constantly in awe of the depth of his knowledge and retention of pop cultural details, and I genuinely believe he was a genius. We also shared a love of Spaghetti Westerns, which he drew from often in his fiction. I’m in shock right now, and I am deeply saddened that I will never see him again. FarmerCon this year will be bittersweet without him.

Crossover of the Week

March 58 BCE

LUCRETIUS’ MAZE

Titus Crow uses his alien clock to time travel to ancient Rome. Ariston tells Crow and Titus Lucretius Carus a story Rael told him involving a Lamia snatching a newborn. Crow and Lucretius are helped against some cultists by another time traveler, Setni, who serves the Great Brains. Crow begins to see Lucretius more and more as an equal to his friend, Henri-Laurent de Marigny. Yog-Sothoth is mentioned. The Great Brains of Kalapol have deprived Setni of his faithful Pentoser. Another time traveler summons Shub-Niggurath to destroy Rome. The defeated and dying villain identifies himself as Montbrison, who came from 1942 in a time-vest invented by a scientist named Noël Essaillon. Montbrison was previously exposed as a murderer by P.I. Nestor Burma. Setni thinks of Maïcha.

Short story by Jean-Guillaume Lanuque in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 15: Trompe l’Oeil, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2018; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 25), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2019. Titus Crow and Henri-Laurent de Marigny are the protagonists of a series of Cthulhu Mythos novels by Brian Lumley. Yog-Sothoth is one of Lovecraft’s Outer Gods, while Shub-Niggurath is one of the Great Old Ones. Rael is from Genesis’ album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Setni, the Great Brains of Kalapol, Pentoser, and Maïcha are from a series of science fiction novels by Pierre Barbet, which represent yet another of the many possible futures for the CU. Montbrison is from 120, Rue de la Gare, one of Léo Malet’s novels about private eye Nestor Burma. Noël Essaillon is from René Barjavel’s novel Future Times Three.

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 Cover: Doc Ardan: The Abominable Snowman

 

Are you a French pulp fan?

Then you'll love this anthology of reprinted and new stories featuring Guy d'Armen's hero Francis "Doc" Ardan!

For more information, be sure to preorder 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 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 of the Week

Summer 1966

THE HOUSE OF EL HOMBRE LOCO 

Werewolf Count Waldemar Daninsky is unable to make a date with Princess Dala. He is attacked by what appears to be Gouroull, the creation of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, whom he has encountered once before, but it turns out to be a human dressed up as the monster. Meanwhile, Pete Dumond plays chess with Dr. Génessier. Génessier once stole the faces of pretty girls for his daughter Christiane. Daninsky is attacked by more seeming monsters: a female vampire wielding a scythe, an enormous lump of rock and moss covered in fur, an extraterrestrial with an enlarged brain and insect-like arms ending in pincers, and a group of scarred warrior-monks. Now able to control his transformations, Daninsky appears in a horror film directed by an Italian named Guido. 

Short story by Nathan Cabaniss in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 12: Carte Blanche, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2015; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 23), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2018. Waldemar Daninsky was played by Paul Naschy in a long-running series of Spanish horror films. Daninsky must have lost control of his lycanthropy again after the events of this story, as he has no power over it in films made after the time in which this story occurs. Princess Dala is from the movie The Pink Panther. Gouroull is the name given to Frankenstein’s monster in novels by Jean-Claude Carrière. Pete Dumond is from the movie How to Make a Monster. Dr. Génessier and his daughter Christiane are from Jean Redon’s Les Yeux Sans Visage and its film adaptation by Georges Franju. The scythe-wielding vampire is Eva from Jean Rollin’s film Fascination. The rock-and-moss creature is the titular alien from the movie Night of the Blood Beast. The insect-like alien is the Metaluna Mutant from the movie This Island Earth. The warrior-monks are the Blind Dead from a series of Spanish horror movies. Since Gouroull is real within the context of this story, the other monsters probably are as well, and This Island Earth and the Blind Dead films have already been established as taking place in the CU. Guido Anselmi is from Federico Fellini's film 8 1/2. 

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: The Spells of Frankenstein

 

Are you a Frankenstein fan?

Then you'll love this novel by my friend Frank Schildiner featuring Gouroull, the version of the monster seen in novels by French author and screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, which has a number of crossovers!

For more information, be sure to pick up 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

 Autumn 1921

A TALE OF TWO SOULS 

Dr. Henry Jekyll seeks the Sâr Dubnotal’s aid, having heard rumors back of an odd case where he assisted Professor Van Helsing. Jekyll’s other personality, Edward Hyde, has opened the Cenobites’ puzzle box. The Sâr’s sanctum includes such items as the Helmet of Nabu, the Witchblade, and the Resurrection Stone. A Cenobite with pins sticking out of his skull appears. The Sâr offers the Cenobite Hyde as his emissary on Earth, saying there are souls so evil they are beyond his ability to change them, such as Fantômas and Tserpchikopf. Two months later, Hyde offers the puzzle box to Irma Vep and the Great Vampire. 

Short story by Matthew Dennion in Sâr Dubnotal 2: The Astral Trail, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2015; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 19), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2016. The Sâr Dubnotal is a French pulp hero. Tserpchikopf battled the Sâr in several novels. Dr. Henry Jekyll and his alter ego Edward Hyde are from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Professor Abraham Van Helsing is from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The Cenobites and their puzzle box, the Lament Configuration, are from the Hellraiser movies. The Cenobite with pins sticking out of his skull is Pinhead. Captain Elliott Spencer became Pinhead in 1921, as established in Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, so this story must take place not long after. The Helmet of Nabu will later be worn by DC Comics’ mystic hero Dr. Fate. The Witchblade is from the titular Top Cow Comics series. The Resurrection Stone is from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, bringing in Harry Potter. Fantômas is Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre’s villain. Irma Vep and the Great Vampire are from the serial Les Vampires.

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 of the Week

Spring 1909

ROULETABILLE AT THE OLD BAILEY 

French journalist Rouletabille reports on an English homicide. Another reporter, Ben Bates, points out the prosecution leader, Sir Wilfrid Robarts; his junior, T. C. Rowley; and Edward Leithen and Impey Biggs representing the defense. The judge is Mr. Justice Wargrave. The prosecution calls consulting detective Harry Dickson, who worked for Nick Carter when he was younger. Dickson has his offices in Baker Street, as do all four of London’s greatest detectives: Sherlock Holmes, Sexton Blake, Sir Seaton Begg, and Victor Drago. 

Short story by Martin Gately in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 14: Sang Froid, 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, and Les Nouveau Exploits de Rouletabille, Rivière Blanche, 2019; and in The New Exploits of Joseph Rouletabille, Black Coat Press, 2020. Rouletabille is from Gaston Leroux’s detective novels. Ben Bates is from the 1988 TV mini-series Jack the Ripper. Sir Wilfrid Robarts is from Agatha Christie’s “The Witness for the Prosecution.” T. C. Rowley is from John Mortimer’s Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders. Edward Leithen is from the works of John Buchan. Impey Biggs is from Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey novels. Mr. Justice Wargrave is from Christie’s And Then There Were None. Harry Dickson appeared in German, Belgian, Dutch, and French pulp novels, the latter mostly written by Jean Ray. Nick Carter is one of the most famous dime novel detectives. Sherlock Holmes needs no introduction. Sexton Blake is an iconic British penny dreadful detective. Seaton Begg is an AU version of Blake seen in Michael Moorcock’s The Metatemporal Detective, but apparently a distinct version separate from Blake exists in the CU. Victor Drago, created by Chris Lowder and Mike Dorey, appeared in the British comic Tornado. 

This post is dedicated to author Martin Gately, who sadly passed away last week. Martin was a great guy and a very talented writer with decades of experience, and I will miss him a lot.

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: Doc Ardan: The Troglodytes of Mount Everest/The Treasure of Black Lake

 

Are you a French pulp fiction fan?

Then you'll love this collection of two linked novels by Guy d'Armen featuring his character Francis "Doc" Ardan, which has shout-outs to a number of characters and places from French, British, and American popular fiction!

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 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!

My first short story!

My contributor copy of the anthology containing my first published fiction has arrived, and I could not be more delighted! Six more days until it hits the streets! And yes, of course I wrote up my own story for Crossovers Expanded Volume 3. :)

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!

Crossover Cover: Doc Ardan: The Fall of Inramonda

 

Are you a fan of Guy d'Armen's Doc Ardan stories?

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!

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!

Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 20: Fin de Siecle

The twentieth and final volume of Tales of the Shadowmen is coming out in December. Eighteen years is an impressive run, and they've assembled a massive array of great authors for the swan song. Although it's not listed on the site yet, I can verify that there will be at least one additional author. That author is Sean Lee Levin, also the author of Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1-3, and his story pits Irma Vep of Louis Feuillade's classic 1915 silent serial Les Vampires against the eponymous femme fatale from Mario Roncoroni's 1915 silent film Filibus. :D Of course, since this is me we're talking about, there are other crossovers in the story as well. I've been wanting to contribute to Shadowmen for years, and I'm delighted to be in at the last hurrah. This is my first published fiction, as opposed to Crossovers Expanded, which is more reference and metafiction, and I am extremely excited!

Crossover of the Week

Winter 1990
DWELLING IN THE DARK 
Peyton Westlake, aka Darkman, meets with gangster Frank White disguised as his lawyer Joey Dalesio, who he diverted to another location after his meeting with Arty Clay. The vigilante is trying to find out who Robert Durant’s superior was. White and Durant are both members of the Black Coats, whose leader is Colonel Bozzo-Corona. Westlake spends the next several months traveling the country, clashing with Marsellus Wallace and posing as a fixer for Keyser Söze. He also gets valuable information on Gordon Gekko by posing as various employees of Jackson Steinem & Co., after two unsuccessful attempts to question him, first while impersonating FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast and later as reporter Carl Kolchak. Westlake comes face-to-face with the Colonel and his executioner, the Marchef. The Colonel mentions Westlake’s girlfriend, Julie Hastings, and says the last person who was able to hold his own against the Marchef was the Nyctalope. 
Short story by Matthew Dennion in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 16: Voir Dire, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2019; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 27), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2020. Darkman is from the titular movie and its sequels, as are Robert Durant and Julie Hastings. Frank White, Joey Dalesio, and Arty Clay are from the movie King of New York. The Black Coats, Colonel Bozzo-Corona, and the Marchef are from Paul Féval’s crime novels. Marsellus Wallace is from the film Pulp Fiction. Keyser Söze is from the movie The Usual Suspects. Gordon Gekko and Jackson Steinem & Co. are from the movie Wall Street. Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast is the protagonist of a series of novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Carl Kolchak is from the TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. The Nyctalope is Jean de La Hire’s pulp hero. 

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! As with the first two volumes, this latest one is an AUTHORIZED continuation of Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!