Crossover of the Week

Spring 2010

DARK WAR 

Appearing or mentioned are: the Hyde formula; Dr. Moreau; Jerboa, a werethylacine; Frankenstein Monsters; Audrey IIs; Granny Red, an immortal monster hunter; the Weird Sisters; the Beast with a Million Eyes; the Killer Shrews; the Monster that Challenged the World; the Crawling Eye; Q the Winged Serpent; the Giant Gila Monster; the original Hound of the Baskervilles; Kongar; Reptilikan; the Sea Hag; Dr. Bombay; Chandu; the Blair Witch; a Gill-Man; Carl; and Arthur Van Helsing. 

The third and final Nekropolis novel by Tim Waggoner, 2011. The Hyde formula is from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Moreau is either Dr. Alphonse Moreau from H. G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau or one of his descendants. Jerboa is from the movie The Howling III: The Marsupials. Frankenstein Monsters are from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Audrey II is from the movie The Little Shop of Horrors. Granny Red claims to be the original Little Red Riding Hood. The Weird Sisters are from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes, the Killer Shrews, the Monster that Challenged the World, the Crawling Eye, Q the Winged Serpent, and the Giant Gila Monster are all from the movies of the same name. The original Hound of the Baskervilles is from Doyle and Watson’s eponymous Sherlock Holmes novel. Kongar and Reptilikan are stand-ins for the titular creatures from the movies King Kong and Reptilicus. The Sea Hag is Popeye’s foe from E. C. Segar’s comic strip Thimble Theatre. Dr. Bombay is from the TV series Bewitched. Chandu is from the radio series Chandu the Magician. The Blair Witch is from the movie The Blair Witch Project. The Gill-Man is from the movie Creature from the Black Lagoon and its sequels. Carl is Carl Kolchak, who previously appeared in the first Nekropolis novel. Arthur Van Helsing is a member of the famous family of monster hunters. 

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 2008

NEKROPOLIS 

Ex-Cleveland policeman Matthew Richter is now a zombie P.I. in Nekropolis, a city founded centuries ago by wizards and monsters within a pocket dimension of eternal night where monsters live openly. Appearing or mentioned are Carl; Erich Zann; a Gill-Man; the Transparent Woman; the Mariner; Dr. Moreau; the Phantom of the Paradise; Victor Baron; a female descendant of Dr. Jekyll who uses a version of her forebear’s formula to change genders; and Marley’s ghost. 

2009 novel by Tim Waggoner. Carl is Carl Kolchak, who now runs a newspaper in Nekropolis. Erich Zann is from H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Music of Erich Zann.” The Gill-Men are from the movie Creature from the Black Lagoon and its sequels. The Transparent Woman is a descendant of H. G. Wells’ Invisible Man who botched her ancestor’s formula so that only her skin turned invisible, not her organs and skeleton. The Mariner is from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Dr. Moreau is either the doctor from H. G. Wells’ novel or a descendant. The Phantom of the Paradise is from the movie of the same name. Victor Baron is one of the monsters created by the Frankenstein family, now living in the Nekropolis and carrying on his creator’s work. Dr. Jekyll needs no introduction. Jacob Marley’s ghost is from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Nekropolis is similar to the Nightside, from Simon R. Green’s series of novels, but the relationship between the two has yet to be revealed. 

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: Tales from the Hanging Monkey Volume 2

 

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

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

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

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

Crossover Cover: The Difference a Day Makes

John Taylor and Dead Boy help an ordinary woman figure out why and how she came to be in the Nightside, and also try to reunite her with her husband. Appearing or mentioned are: the Maltese Falcon (from Dashiell Hammett’s private eye novel of the same name); Something from a Black Lagoon (a reference to the Universal horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon); one of Frankenstein’s female creations (from Mary Shelley's novels and its various sequels and adaptations); knockoff Hyde formula (from Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde); a lipstick-red Plymouth Fury with a dead man grinning at the wheel (the titular car from Stephen King’s novel Christine); a great black beauty of a car, driven by an Oriental in black leathers, and a man in the back in a green face mask and a snap-brimmed hat (the Green Hornet and Kato, with this particular pair probably being Paul Reid and Kono Kato, who began working together in 1993); and worms from the earth (a reference to Robert E. Howard’s Bran Mak Morn story “Worms of the Earth.”)

Crossover of the Week

2003

THE BIG GAME

John Taylor battles Sir Francis Varney, the King of the Vampires, who is trying to turn the Nightside into a homeland for the undead. Appearing or mentioned are: Tsothagua Tequila; Jack Drood; the Street of the Gods; Kor; Julien Advent; Something from a Black Lagoon; the withered and mummified arm of the original Grendel monster, presented to the Adventurers Club by Beowulf himself, back in the sixth century; an ex-Ghost Finder; some kind of Boojum; the Suicide Club; Dracula; and Rassillonn’s Restorative.

Novella by Simon R. Green in Tales from the Nightside, Ace Books, 2015. Sir Francis Varney is from James Malcolm Rymer’s penny dreadful serial Varney the Vampire. Tsothagua Tequila is a reference to Tsathoggua, a Great Old One created by Clark Ashton Smith as part of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Jack Drood is from Green’s Secret Histories novels; his appearance here places this story before the short story “Question of Solace.” The Street of the Gods is from Green’s Hawk & Fisher novellas Winner Takes All and The God Killer. Kor is from H. Rider Haggard’s novel She. Julien Advent is an alias for the titular hero of the 1960s British television series Adam Adamant Lives! Something from a Black Lagoon is a reference to the Universal horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon. The original Grendel monster and Beowulf are from the Old English epic poem Beowulf. The ex-Ghost Finder must have been a former member of the Carnacki Institute from Green’s Ghost Finders series. The Boojum is from Lewis Carroll’s poem “The Hunting of the Snark.” The Suicide Club is from Robert Louis Stevenson’s story of the same name. Dracula needs no introduction. Rassillonn’s Restorative is a reference to the Time Lord Rassilon from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Crossover Cover: Hack/Slash/Eva: Monster's Ball

Cassie Hack and Vlad team up with Eva, Daughter of the Dragon, and the vigilantes known as the Ghosts of Old Detroit to rescue Eva’s companion Michael from Doctor Praetorius and Mary Shelley Lovecraft. A Gill-Man can be seen among the slashers whose corpses have been collected by Praetorius and Lovecraft. Eva is allegedly the daughter of Dracula, though more likely “Dracula” is a “soul-clone” of the original Vlad Tepes. Similarly, although Michael is identified as Victor Frankenstein’s monster, the significant difference in personality between the original monster and Michael suggests the latter was actually created by another member of the Frankenstein family. Dr. Praetorius (or Pretorius) is from the film Bride of Frankenstein. It is unknown whether this Gill-Man is the same one that appears in The Creature from the Black Lagoon and its sequels.

Crossover Cover: Mr. Blank

A man with many identities works for all of the various conspiracies and secret societies (and a few monsters) in Los Angeles. As a result of his work, he can find Symbionia, Thule, Shangri-La, and the entrance to the Hollow Earth on a map. The Elder Gods are mentioned, and our nameless hero mentions rumors of a Gill-Man in Reseda, though it turned out to be a mechanic with a skin condition. Thule is a region in the far north in European folklore. Shangri-La is from James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon. The Hollow Earth theory has been adapted in a number of works of fiction, including Edgar Rice Burroughs’ series set at the Earth’s core. The Elder Gods were created by August Derleth as part of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, and are inimical to the Great Old Ones. This false Gill-Man is pretending to be a member of the species seen in the film Creature from the Black Lagoon and its sequels.

Crossover Cover: Property of a Lady Faire

Eddie Drood seeks out the Lady Faire, an omnisexual being created by Baron Frankenstein later in his life. This Baron is a member of the family seen in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein and its many continuations. Also appearing or mentioned are: Harry Fabulous, the Nightside, the Painted Ghoul, the London Knights, Kayleigh's Eye, Strangefellows, Dead Boy, Sinister Albion, John Taylor, the Griffin, Hadleigh Oblivion, Rossignol, Ms. Fate, and Larry Oblivion (all from the Nightside series); Dagon, Cthulhu, and the Plateau of Leng (all from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos); MI13 (the CU version of the branch of British intelligence seen in the Marvel Universe); the Doormouse’s shop (from the Nightside books, though the group of hippies-turned-mice the Doormouse belongs to first appeared in Green's novel Drinking Midnight Wine); Shadows Fall (from Green's novel of the same name); Carcosa (from Ambrose Bierce's short Story "An Inhabitant of Carcosa"); Lud’s Gate (from Green's Ghost Finders novel Spirits from Beyond); old Carnacki (from William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki the Ghost Finder); stuffed baby Morlock (from H.G. Wells' The Time Machine); the Deep School (from Manly Wade Wellman's John Thunstone stories); Jimmy Thunder, God for Hire (from Drinking Midnight Wine); the Bride of Frankenstein (from the titular Universal horror film); and “something from the Black Lagoon" (a reference to another Universal horror film, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and its sequels.)

Crossover Movie Poster: House of the Wolf Man

Dr. Bela Reinhardt invites a group of connected but unsuspecting individuals to his castle, and monster mayhem ensues. Reinhardt is revealed to actually be Bela Frankenstein, son of Peter Frankenstein and a gypsy girl revealed to be the sister of Bela Blasko. A wolfshead cane appears (“a morbid keepsake”) and an old gypsy verse is quoted: “Even a man who’s pure in heart…” Among Reinhardt’s books is Alhazred’s Alchemy of Transmutation. Later, a Frankenstein Monster is released, and Dracula and his Brides show up. Reinhardt’s lab contains a fossilized Gill-Man hand, as well as one of Dr. Pretorius’ homunculi. Peter Frankenstein is from the film Son of Frankenstein. Mark Brown conflated Peter with Dr. Frederick Frankenstein from the film Young Frankenstein in his essay “The House of Frankenstein” (found on the website An Expansion of Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe.) Bela Blasko is the werewolf that bites Larry Talbot in the film The Wolf Man, which is also the source of the wolfshead cane and the old gypsy verse. Alchemy of Transformation’s author is Abdul Alhazred, best known as the author of the Necronomicon in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. The fossilized Gill-Man hand is from the film Creature from the Black Lagoon, while Dr. Pretorius’ homunculi are from The Bride of Frankenstein.

Crossover Cover: The Birthing of That Which Was

Tourists traveling up the Amazon River book a trip on a riverboat called the Rita, which is from the Creature from the Black Lagoon films.

Crossover Cover: Monster Hunter International

After accountant Owen Pitt kills his boss upon learning that he is a murderous werewolf, he is recruited by Monster Hunter International (M.H.I.), a company that kills monsters to cash in on secret government bounties. Owen is told that Creature from the Black Lagoon was based on a true story, and that both H.P. Lovecraft and J.R.R. Tolkien based their works on stories they heard from monster hunters. M.H.I. battles the Old Ones. Upon hearing the main villain referred to as “C.O.,” Owen thinks, “After having seen him, and feeling a taste of his power, calling the evil creature something so innocuous seemed a little silly. The residents of Tokyo didn’t call Godzilla “Big G.” Earl Harbinger compares the agents of M.H.I. to famous monster hunters of the past, including Odysseus, St. George, Beowulf, and “Van Helsing with firepower.” Julie Shackleford mentions “the Vanni Fucci incident in Dothan a while back.” The references to Lovecraft, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Abraham Van Helsing link Monster Hunter International and its sequels into the CU. There is a CU version of Godzilla, as seen in Emmanuel Gorlier’s story “Twilight” and Nick Pollotta’s novel Doomsday Exam, but he appears to have spent his existence in the 20^th and 21^st centuries in captivity. “The Vanni Fucci incident in Dothan” is a reference to Dan Simmons’ short story “Vanni Fucci is Alive and Well and Living in Hell,” itself a follow-up to Dante’s Inferno.

Crossover Cover: The President's Vampire

In the second Nathaniel Cade novel, Cade and Zach Barrows battle a threat that began in Innsmouth in 1928, and at one point Cade flashes back to his part in the Innsmouth raid. In Cairo, Egypt, Cade meets a man called Flint, who was once “The World’s Greatest Secret Agent,” and in his time handled “plots that never made the news: secret space missions, vanishing islands, strange weapons and deadly assassins with steel teeth.” This is clearly Derek Flint from the movies Our Man Flint and In Like Flint. The implication of the description of the plots that he handled seems to be that some of the James Bond films were distorted accounts of Flint's own cases.Other references include: a series of “vampire murders” in Providence, Rhode Island in 1928, during which Benjamin Franklin’s corpse was stolen (from Lovecraft's "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward"); the “Christmas Invasion” of Kingston Falls, Indiana (from the movie Gremlins); the Pabodie Expedition to the Mountains of Madness (from Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness"); a wave of sleeping deaths in Springwood, Ohio (from the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street); the horror at Red Hook, New York in 1925 (from Lovecraft's "The Horror at Red Hook"); a mysterious creature that terrorized Dunwich, Massachusetts in 1928 (from Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror"); a Gill-Man that escaped into the Everglades after being captured in the Amazon in the 1950s (from The Creature from the Black Lagoon); a 1951 Antarctic expedition, following in the footsteps of the Pabodie expedition, that discovered an alien craft (from the movie The Thing from Another World, which was based on John W. Campbell's story "Who Goes There?," which is already in, but is so different in its plot and characters that both stories could have happened in the CU); the Pod People incident in the 1950s (from the original version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers); and rumors of a shadowy figure that preyed on criminals in the 1930s and ’40s (the Shadow, of course.)