Crossover of the Week

Late July 1912

THE RETURN OF THE WINCHESTER MAN 

Criminologist Professor Craig Kennedy and his friend and biographer, reporter Walter Jameson, travel from New York City to Chicago at the behest of the leader of the White Hand, a group of businessmen who oppose the Italian American Black Hand criminal organization, whose brother has been murdered by, apparently, the Black Hand’s assassin, the Winchester Man. In the process, they meet Sherlock Holmes, who is in Chicago disguised as the Irish American Altamont. After solving their own case, Kennedy and Jameson help Holmes thwart an arson attempt at the Republican Convention, orchestrated by Von Bork. Crime in New York has become relatively mundane, except for a new safecracker calling himself the Gray Seal. The leader of the White Hand mentions “that little punk Colombo.” 

Short story by Walter Jameson, edited by Greg Gick in The Further Crossovers of Sherlock Holmes, Richard Dean Starr and E. R. Bower, eds., Moonstone Books, 2017. Craig Kennedy and Walter Jameson are from Arthur B. Reeve’s detective novels. Holmes’ time in Chicago as Altamont was alluded to in “His Last Bow,” in which he defeated Von Bork. Jimmie Dale, aka the Grey Seal, is the hero of a series of novels by Frank L. Packard. “That little punk Colombo” is Chicago gangster Spats Colombo from the movie Some Like It Hot. 

This crossover is one of hundreds covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, coming from Meteor House in August! 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 Warm Rush of Chilled Blood

 

Are you a Robert E. Howard fan?

Then you'll love Greg Gick's story in this anthology, which has ties to Howard's works, as well as other crossovers!

For more information, be sure to pick up a copy of 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

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: The Capture of Paul Beck

Paul Beck crosses paths with his fellow sleuth Dora Myrl. The two ultimately marry. Dora Myrl previously appeared in Bodkin’s Dora Myrl, the Lady Detective. The year is 1908 based on a reference to Teddy Roosevelt choosing not to seek another presidential term. Paul and Dora are in the CU through references in G. L. Gick’s “The Werewolf of Rutherford Grange” and Barbara Roden’s “The Things That Shall Come Upon Them.”

Crossover of the Week

November 1945

WHO MADE ME SUCH A WOMAN?

            Kanoto Yoshimuta, who has lost her family in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, accepts a ride from a man with gold-capped teeth and a Prussian hairstyle. The man tells Kanoto that he knows how she has been trying to bribe fishing boats to take her to an obscure little island to collect specimens of its fungi, and that he has already warned General MacArthur not to be eating mushrooms anytime soon. Sakima, Haruchi, Doctor Natas, and Serizawa are also mentioned.

            Short story by G.L. Gick in Harry Dickson and the Werewolf of Rutherford Grange, Black Coat Press, 2011; reprinted in The Monsters of Madame Atomos by André Caroff, adapted and translated by Brian Stableford, Black Coat Press, 2012, and in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 9), Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Rivière Blanche, 2012. Kanoto Yoshimuta is better known as André Caroff’s villain Madame Atomos. This story ends with her choosing her nom de guerre. The man with gold-capped teeth and a Prussian hairstyle is John P. Marquand’s Japanese spy Mister Moto. The obscure island is from the movie Matango (aka Attack of the Mushroom People); those who ingest the mushrooms on the island are transformed into humanoid mushrooms themselves. Mura Sakima is a Japanese agent from the film serial The Masked Marvel, while Oyama Haruchi is a spy from the serial G-Men vs. the Black Dragon. Doctor Natas is from Guy d’Armen’s novel Doc Ardan: City of Gold and Lepers. Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier’s adaptation and translation of d’Armen’s book implies that Natas is actually Sax Rohmer’s Doctor Fu Manchu. Dr. Daisuke Serizawa is from the Japanese monster movie Gojira, which was released in the United States as Godzilla. Although the mass destruction seen in the Gojira/Godzilla films is incompatible with Crossover Universe continuity, Serizawa does have a CU counterpart, as seen in Michel Stéphan’s story “The Red Silk Scarf.”