Crossover of the Week

February 1935

WEB OF THE BROWN RECLUSE 

Professor Anton Macek considers consulting a doctor at the Empire State Building, but he is out of town. He decides against contacting a hotel owner with a legendary temper instead. A paperboy hawks the day’s copy of the Clarion. With his jet-black hair and square jaw, some say Kent Hardy resembles a certain famous cop from Chicago. Hardy is one of the best freelance criminologists in New York City, though some, such as Hammond or Noel, have greater reputations. Macek is a member of a group of scientists that also includes Dr. Lemuel Grimes. In its day, New York has seen masked marauders, murderous purple lights, skyscraper phantoms, and even a giant monkey. President Roosevelt tells Hardy, “It seems super-criminals like [the Brown Recluse] are coming out of the woodwork these days. The Black Star, Dr. Satan, the Whispering Shadow, the Tiger Shark...the list seems to go on and on.” 

Short story by Greg Gick in Mystery Men (& Women) Volume 3, Ron Fortier, ed., Airship 27 Productions, 2012. The doctor at the Empire State Building is the bronze-skinned pulp hero. The hotel owner is Jim Anthony. The New York Clarion newspaper is from the Phantom Detective pulp novels. The Chicago cop is Dick Tracy. Wade Hammond appeared in stories by Paul Chadwick in the magazine Ten Detective Aces. The murderous purple lights are from the Hammond story “Doctor Zero,” while the skyscraper phantom is a reference to the Hammond story “Skyscraper Horror.” Dorus Noel’s exploits were chronicled by Arthur J. Burks in All Detective Magazine. Dr. Lemuel Grimes is related to Dr. A. J. Grimes from the Danny Dunn juvenile adventure novels by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The giant monkey is King Kong. The Black Star’s stories were told by Johnston McCulley in Detective Story Magazine. Dr. Satan is a villain created by Paul Ernst for Weird Tales. The Whispering Shadow is from the serial of the same name. The Tiger Shark is from the serial The Fighting Marines. 

This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which is to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: I. V. Frost: Tales of Mystery and Scientific Detection

 

Are you a fan of author Donald Wandrei?

Then you'll love this anthology of new stories about his pulp scientific detective Professor I. V. Frost, which includes encounters with the likes of Doctor Satan, the Moon Man, the Phantom Detective, and the Green Ghost!

For more information, be sure to purchase my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which is to be published by Meteor House! As with its predecessors, this volume is an AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: The Black Bat Returns

Are you a fan of the pulp hero the Black Bat?

Then you'll love this anthology of new stories featuring the character published by Moonstone Books, which includes tales in which the Bat encounters the Domino Lady, the Green Lama, Doctor Satan, the Golden Amazon, and the Purple Scar!

For more details, see my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! Much like the first two volumes published in 2016, this book is an AUTHORIZED companion to Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2 by my dear friend Win Scott Eckert!
 

Crossover of the Week

1939

THE DEATH’S HEAD CLOUD

            Jim Anthony battles a madman who has created a fog that has a lethal effect on those it comes in contact with. Appearing or mentioned are: Inspector Craig; Malone; Joséphine Balsamo; Irma Vep; “that odd Persson woman”; Pickman; Dr. Death; Dr. Satan; “the Mephistophelean master of the Si-Fan”; Fantômas; the Daily Sentinel; Reid; Xonira; Reid Enterprises; Patricia Savage; the Bugle; the Globe; the New York Inquirer; the Sky Band; Police Commissioner Warner; the Kingscote School for Girls; St. Trinian’s; the Minchin’s Seminary; “a dance academy in Freiburg of dubious reputation”; the Black Bat; “that arachnid lunatic in the fright-wig”; Ellen Patrick; Margo Lane; “the Remmers that Wolfe sent around”; Maple-White Land; “a lama with an unfortunate predilection for the color green”; Ravenwood; and Captain Nemo.

            Novel by Joshua Reynolds, Pro Se Press, 2013. Jim Anthony appeared in the pulp magazine Super Detective, in stories written by Victor Rousseau Emanuel, Robert Leslie Bellem, and W.T. Ballard. Inspector Craig is from Robert Barbour Johnson’s short story “Far Below.” Malone is Detective Thomas F. Malone from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red Hook.” Richard Upton Pickman is from Lovecraft’s “Pickman’s Model.” Joséphine Balsamo is Arsène Lupin’s archenemy. Irma Vep is from Louis Feuillade’s silent film serial Les Vampires. Persson is Una Persson, a recurring character in Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse. Dr. Death’s misdeeds were chronicled by Harold Ward in a titular pulp magazine. Dr. Satan’s crimes were recounted by Paul Ernst in Weird Tales. The master of the Si-Fan is Dr. Fu Manchu. Fantômas is the vicious criminal mastermind created by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre. Reid is Britt Reid, aka the Green Hornet. The Daily Sentinel and Reid Enterprises are both owned by Reid. Since Britt was based out of Detroit rather than New York, the reporter in this novel must be an employee of the Sentinel’s New York offices. Xonira is from Derrick Ferguson’s novels Dillon and the Legend of the Golden Bell and Dillon and the Pirates of Xonira. Patricia Savage is Doc Savage’s cousin. The Daily Bugle and the Daily Globe are seen in Spider-Man stories published by Marvel Comics. The New York Inquirer is from Orson Welles’ classic film Citizen Kane. The Sky Band was an all-female group of criminals featured in a storyline in Lee Falk’s comic strip The Phantom. The Black Bat appeared in stories by Norman Daniels in the magazine Black Book Detective. Commissioner Warner is also from the Black Bat stories. The Kingscote School for Girls is from Antonia Forest’s novels about the Marlow family. St. Trinian’s appeared in illustrated cartoons by Ronald Searle that were later adapted into a series of films. The Minchin’s Seminary is from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s book A Little Princess. The dance academy in Freiburg is from Dario Argento’s horror film Suspiria. “That arachnid lunatic in the fright-wig” is the Spider. Ellen Patrick is better known as the Domino Lady, who appeared in stories by the pseudonymous “Lars Anderson” published in Saucy Romantic Adventure. Margo Lane is one of the Shadow’s most loyal and trusted agents. Wolfe is Rex Stout’s detective Nero Wolfe; Remmers is the rotund sleuth’s favorite beer. Maple-White Land is from Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World. The “lama with an unfortune predilection for the color green” is Jethro Dumont, aka the Green Lama, whose stories were written by Kendell Crossen for the pulp Double Detective. Ravenwood, “the Stepson of Mystery,” is an occult detective appearing in stories by Frederick C. Davis in the pulp Secret Agent X. Captain Nemo is, of course, from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island.

 

Crossover Cover: The Hounds of Hell

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This novel pits Frederick C. Davis' pulp hero the Moon Man against Paul Ernst's villain Doctor Satan, who was the subject of his own feature in Weird Tales.