Crossover Cover: The Black Bat and the Purple Scar: Faces of Fear

 

The Black Bat teams up with the Purple Scar to investigate dead gangsters seemingly turning up alive thanks to a villain called Mr. Mask. The Bat uses smoke bombs given to him by his friend and fellow crime fighter Captain Hazzard. Lt. McGrath summons Inspector John Burks to the scene of the Bat’s encounter with a group of crooks. Burks says he has heard the Bat gives McGrath as many headaches as he gets from Secret Agent X. Police photographer Dave Dejune meets with Betty Dale of the Herald about the return of one of the gangsters. The Purple Scar, in his secret identity as Dr. Miles Murdoch, is visiting New York City for a medical conference, staying at the Waldorf Anthony. Betty attends a press conference, as does Steve Huston of the Clarion, who says old man Havens had a fit because Betty and the Herald scooped them. Lawyer Paul Westland asks at the conference, “Who elected Agent X, the Black Bat, or the Phantom Detective to hunt down criminals?” The Bat’s gas bombs were made by Professor MacGowen, the head of research at Hazzard Labs. The Black Bat, whose stories were primarily written by Norman A. Daniels, appeared in the pulp magazine Black Book Detective. The Purple Scar’s stories were told by John Endicott in Exciting Detective in the 1940s. Captain Hazzard appeared in a one-shot pulp magazine by “Chester Hawks” (Paul Chadwick). His adventures have been continued in a series of novels by Fortier. Professor Washington “Wash” MacGowen is one of Hazzard’s aides. Secret Agent X appeared in stories by the pseudonymous “Brant House” (originally Chadwick, then other writers) in a titular pulp magazine. Inspector Burks is from that series. Daily Herald reporter Betty Dale is X’s love interest and closest ally. The Waldorf Anthony is the hotel owned by Jim Anthony, whose exploits were written by “John Grange” (a penname used at different times by Victor Rousseau Emanuel, Robert Leslie Bellem, and W. T. Ballard) in the magazine Super-Detective. The Phantom Detective, Steve Huston, the Clarion newspaper, and Frank Havens are from the pulp magazine The Phantom Detective, written by various individuals using the pseudonym “G. Wayman Jones” and then “Robert Wallace.”

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 of the Week

Winter 2019

KICKIN’ THE WILLY BOBO WITH...DILLON 

Author Derrick Ferguson interviews his “character” Dillon. Asked what living person he most admires, Dillon names Dr. Harry Wolper, who he studied under at the Northfield Institute for Advanced Research in California. He also mentions the North African country of Khusra. Dillon’s most treasured possession is a portrait of his mother that formerly hung in the New York branch of the Baltimore Gun Club, which he saw when he was there looking for Jim Anthony. When Ferguson asks Dillon his favorite writers, he responds with a long list: Jackson Bentley, Henry Chinaski, Jessica Fletcher, Jason King, Garth Marenghi, Robin Masters, Thom E. Gemcity, Kilgore Trout, and Nathan Zuckerman. 

Metafictional interview included in the introduction to Derrick Ferguson’s book Dillon Annual Collection 2019, Pro Se Productions, 2019. Dr. Harry Wolper is from the movie Creator. Besides Dillon’s adventures, Khusra also appears in the stories of Ferguson’s 1930s adventurer Fortune McCall. The Baltimore Gun Club is from Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon. Jim Anthony appeared in the pulp magazine Super-Detective. A young Dillon met Anthony at the New York branch of the Gun Club in Ferguson and Josh Reynolds’ The Vril Agenda. Jackson Bentley is from the movie Lawrence of Arabia. Henry Chinaski is author Charles Bukowski’s fictional alter ego. Jessica Fletcher is from the television series Murder, She Wrote. Jason King is from the TV series Department S and Jason King. Garth Marenghi is from the TV show Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. Robin Masters is from the TV series Magnum, P.I. “Thom E. Gemcity” is the anagrammatic penname of Special Agent Timothy McGee on the TV series NCIS. Wold Newton Family member Kilgore Trout is a recurring character in Kurt Vonnegut’s novels. Nathan Zuckerman is a frequent protagonist of Philip Roth’s novels. 

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 Covers: Final Phase

 

The Black Bat battles the Black Sun Cult alongside the Phantom Detective, I. V. Frost, the Domino Lady, Nighthawk, Ki-Gor and Helene, Captain Hazzard’s aides, and Jim Anthony. The Phantom Detective listens to a radio broadcast by Diane Elliott. Nighthawk is from Fortier’s novel Nighthawk: Burning Skies. This crossover brings him into the CU. Diane Elliott is Operator No. 5’s girlfriend. In an amusing moment that is more of an in-joke than a true crossover, the Domino Lady tells the Phantom Detective that she’s always thought the use of a spotlight signal to summon him was a great idea, and that she’s surprised some other masked mystery man hasn’t stolen it from him, a foreshadowing of Commissioner Gordon’s use of the Batsignal to summon Batman.

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 Cover: The Mark of Terror

 

Are you a Ghostbusters fan?

Then you'll love this novel featuring the classic pulp hero Jim Anthony by Joshua M. Reynolds, which has nods to that film and several other works!

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! 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 of the Week

Summer 1935 

THE DOMINO LADY’S TRIPLE THREAT 

The Domino Lady battles a German American Bund targeting an old friend of her father. As Ellen Patrick, she meets two police detectives, one of whom is Chas Faraday. Last time Ellen stayed at the Waldorf-Anthony in New York, she met a strange and shadowy man named Kent, who saw a magician named Kosmo performing amazing feats with his cape while he (Kent) was serving in the court of the Czar. Later, Kent used a Baritsu move to save Ellen's life. Ellen meets two more cops, Sergeant Garcia and Patrolman Hawke, and reads an article in The Daily Sentinel. Detective Faraday tells Ellen he is thinking of leaving the Berkeley Police Department and has applied for police jobs in Neptune and Palm City. Patrolman Hawke tells Ellen stories about his aviator brother. 

Short story by Brad Mengel in Domino Lady Volume Two, Ron Fortier, ed., Airship 27 Productions, 2016. Chas Faraday is an ancestor of Michael Faraday, the protagonist of the TV series The Cape, which is set in Palm City. Kosmo is also from that series. The Waldorf-Anthony is the hotel owned by pulp hero Jim Anthony. Kent is the pulp hero of the shadows. Baritsu is a Japanese wrestling style from the Sherlock Holmes story “The Adventure of the Empty House.” The comic book story “The Conflagration Man,” a crossover between the shadowy vigilante and the bronze man, implied both heroes had learned Baritsu from Holmes. Philip José Farmer originally identified Holmes as one of Doc’s teachers in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Baritsu was also mentioned in The Cape. Sergeant Garcia is a descendant of Sergeant Demetrio Lopez Garcia from Disney’s Zorro television series. Patrolman Hawke is the father of Matt Hawke, aka the Avenger, the hero of a series of Men’s Adventure paperbacks by Chet Cunningham. The Daily Sentinel is the Los Angeles edition of the Detroit newspaper published by Britt Reid, the Green Hornet. Neptune, California is the setting of the television series Veronica Mars. Patrolman Hawke’s aviator brother is the father of Stringfellow and St. John Hawke from the TV series Airwolf. This story takes place in summer, three years after the death of Ellen’s father, meaning 1935. 

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 AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

Autumn 1940

RED SHAMBHALA 

Jim Anthony battles a Russian villain called Koschei. Appearing or mentioned are: Xonira; the Heart of Fortune; the Bugle; the Globe; the New York Inquirer; Sovereign City; Maple White Land; Richard Upton Pickman’s infamous painting “Subway Accident”; Campalans; the Brainerd punch-card automata; Thunder Jim Wade; Doc Ardan; Hanoi Xan and his World Crime League; the Si-Fan; the Brotherhood of the Golden Chrysanthemum; the Vampires of Paris; the Order of the Cosmic Ram; Commissioner Warner; the Black Bat; the Kingscote School for Girls; St. Trinian’s; and a Freiburg dance academy of dubious reputation. 

Novel by Joshua Reynolds, Pro Se Productions, 2015. Jim Anthony appeared in the pulp magazine Super Detective. Xonira is from Derrick Ferguson’s Dillon series. The Heart of Fortune is the riverboat home and gambling casino of Ferguson’s character Fortune McCall. The Daily Bugle and the Daily Globe are from Marvel’s Spider-Man comics. The New York Inquirer is from the classic film Citizen Kane. Sovereign City is the setting of a book imprint from Pro Se; Fortune McCall is one of the city’s heroes. Maple White Land is from Arthur Conan Doyle and Edward Malone’s The Lost World. Richard Upton Pickman and his painting “Subway Accident” are from H. P. Lovecraft’s “Pickman’s Model.” The fictional cubist painter Jusep Torres Campalans was the subject of a biography by Max Aub. The Brainerd punch-card automata are based on technology invented by Johnny Brainerd in Edward S. Ellis’ The Steam Man of the Prairies. Thunder Jim Wade appeared in stories by “Charles Stoddard” (Henry Kuttner) in the pulp magazine Thrilling Adventures. Doc Ardan is from Guy d’Armen’s Doc Ardan: City of Gold and Lepers. Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier’s adaptation and translation of that novel implied Ardan was really a famous American pulp hero. Hanoi Xan and the World Crime League are from the movie The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. The Si-Fan is from Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu novels. The Brotherhood of the Golden Chrysanthemum is mentioned in several works by Reynolds. The Vampires of Paris are from the serial Les Vampires. The Order of the Cosmic Ram is from Reynolds’ Royal Occultist series. Commissioner Jerome Warner is from the Black Bat stories. The Kingscote School for Girls is from Antonia Forest’s Marlow novels. St. Trinian’s is the setting of a comic strip by Ronald Searle. The Freiburg dance academy is from the movie Suspiria.

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

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: Murder Island

 

In this Executioner novel by Josh Reynolds, Mack Bolan and his latest target, arms dealer Byron Cloud, find themselves on an island being hunted by a man called Sarban Rainsford. Tony Spence, the CIA’s man in Hong Kong, tells Bolan that Cloud is a third-generation criminal: “His granddaddy used to run a floating casino. He was mostly a blackmailer, but he dabbled in the arms trade and murder-for-hire. His daddy was of similar cut. Both were pretty nasty, so Byron’s comparatively harmless.” The Yellow Chrysanthemum is mentioned.  Sarban Rainsford’s name is inspired by Sanger Rainsford, the protagonist of Richard Connell’s story “The Most Dangerous Game,” which has already been included in the CU. Bolan suggests in passing that Rainsford may be using an alias. If so, he likely read Sanger’s account of his duel with the Russian General Zaroff and was inspired to adopt both Zaroff’s M.O. and Rainsford’s surname. Byron Cloud’s grandfather is Reinhardt Cloud, a foe of the pulp hero Jim Anthony. Reinhardt was first mentioned in Reynolds’ novel The Death's Head Cloud and made his first physical appearance in Red Shambhala. The Yellow Chrysanthemum is likely another name for the Brotherhood of the Golden Chrysanthemum, mentioned in other works by Reynolds, and related to the Sons of the Golden Chrysanthemum from Derrick Ferguson’s Dillon series. 

This novel is one of hundreds of crossovers that will be 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 Cover: The Green Lama Unbound

I covered the original version of this novel some time ago. Since then, a revised and expanded version has been published by Moonstone Books. The Green Lama battles Cthulhu. Cthulhu; Nyarlathotep; R’lyeh; the Great Old Ones; the Outer Gods; the Necronomicon; the Deep Ones; Abdul Alhazred; Glyyu-Uho; Vhoorl; flying polyps; the Great Race of Yith; shoggoths; Arkham, Massachusetts; Innsmouth; the Miskatonic River; Miskatonic University; Professor Randolph Carter; and Zkauba are from the works of H. P. Lovecraft. This novel also makes use of characters and places from Cthulhu Mythos tales by August Derleth (the Elder Gods); Brian Lumley (Chthonians and Shudde M’ell); Ramsey Campbell (Baalbo, Yifne, and Tond); Walter C. DeBill, Jr. (Ogntlach); Lin Carter (Xoth); and A. A. Attanasio (Yaksh). Rick Masters and Twin Eagle had their own feature in Spark Publications’ Green Lama comic book series. “That guy who lives in the Empire State Building” is a well-known bronze-skinned pulp hero. Arnold Toht is from the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, while Colonel Ernst Vogel is from the third film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Neville Sinclair is from the film version of Dave Stevens’ comic The Rocketeer. Since the comic book has already been incorporated into the Crossover Universe, the Sinclair mentioned here must be the CU counterpart of the Sinclair from the film, which follows a different continuity than the comic. The phrase “klaatu barada nikto” appears in both the science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still and Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films. Foster Fade, “the crime spectacularist,” appeared in three stories by Lester Dent in All Detective Magazine in 1934. Richard Knight appeared in the pulp magazine Flying Aces in stories by Donald E. Keyhoe. The Black Bat was created by Norman Daniels and appeared in Black Book Detective. The Lama’s old detective friend in London is Sherlock Holmes. Elisha Pond is a false identity used by Secret Agent X, who appeared in a titular magazine. The original version of the novel has a few references that were deleted from the revised version, such as a rampaging ape (King Kong), Captain Hazzard (a one-shot pulp hero created by Paul Chadwick), Dan Fowler (an FBI agent appearing in the pulp G-Men Detective), Lance Star (a Canadian pulp hero recently revived by Bobby Nash and other writers), and Jim Anthony (who appeared in the magazine Super Detective).

Crossover of the Week

Mid February–October 1931

THE HUNTERS

Jim Anthony asks his friend Eddie Phipps if he is coming to the next meeting of the Baltimore Gun Club. After Phipps is attacked by a strange man-monster, Jim tells an old man to call Healy in Homicide, and tell him he said there’s been trouble at the Suydam Building. Healy refers to “that thing last year with that Yogami fellow—,” to which Jim replies “Yes. The so-called Werewolf of Red Hook.” One of Phipps’ murderer’s other victims is named Guster Wooster. A man who unsuccessfully tries to kill Jim commits suicide by taking a distillation of Mariphasa Lupinum, the Tibetan Moon Blossom. At the Gun Club, Jim and his sidekick Tom Gentry meet Count Zaroff, whom a castaway named Rainsford falsely claimed died on his island a few years ago. Another Gun Club member, Otto DeLancy, asks Jim if he was in New York when Bertie Freis left. Jim replies he was in Paris on a case involving a band of thieves, Les Vampires. A murderous fiend called Fantômas was also involved in this case. Jim thinks of a Gun Club member named Ironcastle. Jim and Tom battle a group of Tcho-Tcho. Zaroff says the Tcho-Tcho tried to kill him while he was in Tibet, searching for the elusive Mi-go. The word Leng pops into Jim’s mind. Franklin Pike reminds Jim of their trip to Maple-White Land, and of someone named Ki-Gor who was also present. Pike refers to Leng as the Doorway to the Lost Valley of Carcosa, and tells Jim about a swami in New Orleans, “Chanda-something.” Jim requests his butler Dawkins have certain tools from his laboratory delivered to the Freis family burying ground at New York’s Wildwood Cemetery. A captured Tcho-Tcho claims to be a member of the royal guard of the King in Yellow. Jim sees Zaroff speaking to a man called Allardravitch, who, like Zaroff himself, was once part of the Czar of Russia’s inner circle. Zaroff invites Jim to hunt with him on an uncharted island, far west of Sumatra, which is inhabited by prehistoric animals. Allardravitch sneers at Jim’s use of mercy bullets, which prompts Jim to tell him not to confuse him for the bronze man. Traveling to the island, Jim and Zaroff spot a ship in the distance called the Venture. Zaroff tells Jim how an old German named Lidenbrock put him up in his lodge during the Great War, and told him he and his uncle went on an expedition to the center of the earth many years earlier, where they also encountered prehistoric animals. Lidenbrock’s uncle told him of a previous, aborted attempt to enter the earth’s core, through an opening on the island Jim and Zaroff are visiting. That ingress was sealed, but not before creatures from the core migrated through it and settled on the island. Aboard the Venture, Jim and Zaroff meet filmmaker D. W. Cecil De Cent, his leading lady Dana Sparrow, the elderly captain of the ship, and Jack the first mate. Dana grew up in an orphanage, with her father unaware of her existence. Jim finds a book written by one of the Weta-people, who sailed to the island from the Gray Havens after the return of the king, but cannot read it. Zaroff tells Jim there are signs of a giant anthropoid on the island. Dana refers to “that Doctor Wildman in the pulps.” The ape’s unveiling in New York draws a lot of celebrity attention, including that of the Celebrated Feral Child of Africa, who has a personal interest in apes, giant or otherwise. De Cent, about to unveil the ape, tells Jim’s Comanche grandfather Mephito he has filmed the strange monoliths and ruins of the Indians in Dunwich. The ape escapes thanks to Zaroff’s scheming, and climbs to the top of the Empire State Building with Dana in his paw, only to be shot down by airplanes.

Jim Anthony: Super Detective Volume Two, Airship 27 Productions, 2010, composed of two novellas, “Death in Yellow” by Joshua Reynolds and “On the Periphery of Legend” by Micah S. Harris. Jim Anthony appeared in the pulp Super Detective. The Baltimore Gun Club seen here is the New York branch of the club seen in Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon. The Suydam Building is named after Robert Suydam from H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red Hook.” The Mi-go are a race of Yeti from Lovecraft’s “The Whisperer in Darkness.” Leng is a plateau in Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, first described in “The Hound.” Dr. Yogami and the Mariphasa Lupinum (or Mariphasa Lupina Lumina) are from the film Werewolf of London. Guster Wooster is presumably an American relative of P. G. Wodehouse’s most famous character, Bertie Wooster. Count Zaroff, his island, and Sanger Rainsford are from Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game.” Xavier Mauméjean’s story “The Most Exciting Game,” which is set in 1930, also portrayed Zaroff as a member of the New York branch of the Gun Club. Les Vampires are from Louis Feuillade’s 1915 film serial of the same name. Fantômas is a French pulp villain created by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre. Hareton Ironcastle is from J.-H. Rosny aîné’s L’Étonnant Voyage d’Hareton Ironcastle, as well as Philip José Farmer’s translation and adaptation, Ironcastle, which revealed Ironcastle was a member of the Baltimore Gun Club. The Tcho-Tcho race were created by August Derleth as part of the Cthulhu Mythos. These Tcho-Tcho must have been the result of interbreeding with humans, as they are noticeably taller than the race is described to be by Derleth and other authors. Maple White Land is from Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World. John Peter Drummond’s jungle hero Ki-Gor’s first adventure must have actually taken place years before its 1938 publication in Jungle Stories Magazine. Carcosa is originally from Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Inhabitant of Carcosa,” but also appears in Robert W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow, which Lovecraft incorporated into the Cthulhu Mythos. The Swami Chandraputra is an identity assumed by Randolph Carter, the protagonist of Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle, in the story “Through the Gates of the Silver Key.” He also appears under that alias in Lovecraft and Hazel Heald’s story “Out of the Aeons.” Wildwood Cemetery also hosts the grave of the allegedly deceased Denny Colt, also known as the Spirit. “Allardravitch” is actually the shadowy hero who was a spy for the Czar during the Great War.. The uncharted island is Skull Island from the classic film King Kong. The Venture is also from King Kong. “D. W. Cecil De Cent” and “Dana Sparrow” are aliases for Carl Denham and Ann Darrow, while the captain and first mate are Captain Englehorn and Jack Driscoll; all four appear in the film. The giant ape is Kong himself, of course. The bronze man is a famous pulp hero of the 1930s and ’40s, of whom Rick Lai notes, “Doc wouldn’t have been using mercy bullets regularly until 1932 (The Phantom City). However, Doc might have experimented with mercy bullets like Anthony in early 1931. Doc would have abandoned them to avenge the deaths of his father (The Man of Bronze) and favorite tutor (The Land of Terror) during May–July 1931.” Axel Lidenbrock and his uncle Otto are from Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. The connection between the subterranean world visited by the Lidenbrocks and Skull Island was first proposed by Micah S. Harris in The Eldritch New Adventures of Becky Sharp. Although that novel takes place in an alternate universe, apparently the connection is true in the CU as well. According to The Eldritch New Adventures of Becky Sharp, Ann Darrow was the illegitimate daughter of Becky herself (from William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair) and Lord Eugenides, an analogue of the jungle lord. Unlike the jungle lord, Eugenides grew to adulthood during the Victorian era, with his own counterparts to Jane and La. The Ann Darrow of the CU is probably the daughter of Becky Sharp and the time-traveling future version of the jungle lord (aka John Gribardsun) seen in Farmer’s Time’s Last Gift. The Grey Havens (aka Mithlond) are an Elvish port from J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings. In Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life, Philip José Farmer revealed an iconic pulp hero’s real name as James Clarke Wildman, Jr. However, Dana’s reference to Doc Wildman as a pulp character should not be taken literally, since his pulp magazine did not begin publication until 1933, two years after the events of this story. The Celebrated Feral Child of Africa is the jungle lord. Although Harris places Kong’s unveiling in April, shortly after Denham and company return from Skull Island, Kong’s rampage took place in October in the CU. More likely, Kong spent months in quarantine before being officially exhibited. Dunwich is from Lovecraft’s “The Dunwich Horror.”

Crossover of the Week

1940

THE BLACK BAT AT BAY

Jim Anthony comes out of retirement when he is tasked by the N.Y.P.D. with capturing the Black Bat, who has been framed for murder. Anthony was recommended to Commissioner Warner by FBI agent Dan Fowler, with whom Anthony has worked before. Anthony also tells Warner, “A famous member of my fraternity once said that pertinence is purely a matter of perspective.” The Bat attacks a group of criminals at the wrecked Comet Club, which was once owned by a man named Suydam, who died in 1921 in the same fire that destroyed the club. Gangster Gentleman Jack Schulz has a penthouse in the Shandor Building.

Short story by Josh Reynolds in Black Bat Mystery, Volume 2, Airship 27 Productions, 2012. The Black Bat and Jim Anthony appeared in the pulp magazines Black Book Detective and Super Detective, respectively. FBI agent Dan Fowler’s stories appeared in G-Men Detective. Fowler and Anthony previously met in Erwin K. Roberts’ story “Neighborhood in Peril” and Reynolds’ tale “Proof of Supremacy.” The fellow sleuth quoted by Anthony is either Sherlock Holmes or C. Auguste Dupin. Suydam is a relative of Robert Suydam from H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red Hook.” The Shandor Building is from the movie Ghostbusters. Anthony must have permanently resumed his adventurous career after this, given his appearances in “The Carolingian Stone” and other stories.

Crossover Cover: Secret Agent X: The Sea Wraiths

 

Secret Agent X battles a diabolical Nazi plot to attack the U.S. The Clarion and Jim Anthony’s New York Star are mentioned as rivals to the Herald newspaper. Agent X, disguised as FBI Agent Wesley Greaves, requests aid from Commander Miles Messervie, Chief of Operations for the Special Intelligence Service, who playfully refers to his secretary as “Miss Tuppence” and “Miss Ha’penny,” and has her send for Lieutenant Tanner, who can help get “Greaves” behind enemy lines. Tanner and “Greaves” are flown to France by Lance Star and his Sky Rangers. Secret Agent X appeared in a titular pulp magazine. The Clarion newspaper is from the Phantom Detective pulp novels. Jim Anthony, the owner of the New York Star, appeared in the pulp magazine Super Detective. “Commander Miles Messervie” is better known as Vice Admiral Sir Miles Messervy (aka M) from Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. John Pearson’s James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007 states that Messervy did not become head of the British Secret Service until January 1946, so the reference to Messervy as head of the SIS must be in error, though he probably did work for some government agency in 1941. Messervy’s secretary is Miss Moneypenny, also from the Bond novels. Bill Tanner is MI6’s Chief of Staff in the Bond novels. Apparently the three were reunited when they joined the Secret Service. Lance Star and his Sky Rangers are Canadian pulp characters who have been revived by modern authors, notably Bobby Nash. This book takes place in late summer, between the German invasion of France in May-June 1940 and the United States’ entry into World War II in December 1941.

Crossover Cover: Damballa

The vigilante Damballa, the son of an African-American missionary and a native African woman, explains his origin to boxer Jackhammer Jackson’s trainer, stating, “I had read with interest about the American guardians of liberty and justice who operate beyond the strictures of the law. People like the Shadow, Doc Savage, Captain Hazzard, Jim Anthony…and I became convinced that our people needed such a defender as well.” The other vigilantes are referred to as real people, bringing Damballa into the CU.

Crossover Cover: The Green Lama Unbound

The Green Lama battles Cthulhu. Besides this major one, there are several other crossovers in the book. Lieutenant John Caraway, the Lama’s policeman ally, meets him at his office in the Empire State Building, and reflects: “This is where they killed that rampaging ape, he reminded himself. He still remembered hearing the actress’s warbling screams echo down from the top of the tower. There was a small bullet hole in the wall, a physical reminder of the four Curtiss Helldiver biplanes that had taken the massive primate down.” Obviously, this is a reference to King Kong. Another of the Lama’s allies is pilot Rick Masters, who mentions his sidekick Twin Eagle. Both characters appeared in a backup feature in Spark Publications' Green Lama comic. Paul Chadwick's pulp hero Captain Hazzard is mentioned several times, and appears in a flashback to the Lama’s time in Tibet. Two Nazi officers discuss the Toht and Vogel embarrassments, and Hitler’s obsession with occult artifacts, including Arks, Holy Grails, and the Spear of Destiny. The Toht and Ark references are to the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, while the Vogel and Holy Grail references are to the third film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indy became entangled with the Nazis’ quest for the Spear of Destiny in 1945, as chronicled in a 1995 miniseries published by Dark Horse Comics. Another of the Lama’s companions, actor Ken Clayton, jokingly responds to Caraway’s use of the phrase “gone with the wind” by suggesting he could play Rhett Butler in the upcoming film, adding, “I heard Neville Sinclair was in the running until, y’know…ka-boom!” Sinclair is from the film version of Dave Stevens’ comic The Rocketeer; since the events of the film are irreconcilable with the Rocketeer comics, which are squarely in the CU, the Sinclair referenced here must be the CU version of the character from the movie, and must have met his end under different circumstances, though obviously still explosive ones. On being told that she is essential to preventing the catastrophe that will be brought about by Cthulhu, the Lama’s beloved Jean Farrell responds, “I’m not a hero…I’m not Dan Fowler, Lance Star, or Jim freakin’ Anthony.” Dan Fowler, G-Man’s exploits appeared in the pulp G-Men Detective. Lance Star was a character from the Canadian pulps who has recently been revived by Bobby Nash and others. Jim Anthony’s adventures were told in the pulp magazine Super Detective. A ship whose crew includes Elisha Pond finds the remains of the Nazis killed in the battle between the Lama and Cthulhu. Pond is one of the many false identities used by Secret Agent X. Nyarlathotep, the Deep Ones, Shudde-M’ell, the Chthonians, a shoggoth, and Randolph Carter appear, and Zkauba is mentioned. All are from Lovecraft's works, with the exceptions of Shudde-M'ell and the Chthonians, which are from Brian Lumley's contributions to the Mythos. The invocation “Nyarlathotep klaatu barada nikto” appears several times. The phrase “Klaatu barada nikto” first appeared in the film The Day the Earth Stood Still, and was also used in Army of Darkness, the third film in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy.

As those who read my very first post here know, this novel has deep significance to my work. I posted a list of the crossovers on one of the Yahoo Wold Newton groups in late 2011, and got some positive feedback, including Win saying it was an interesting writeup and asking if there were more in my future. Encouraged by Win's comments, I continued posting writeups of any new crossovers I discovered. In early 2012, Win suggested the idea of me writing a third volume of Crossovers. This novel set me on the path I'm on today, and I appreciate it all the more because of that. Incidentally, Moonstone Books will be publishing a revised and expanded version of this novel in the near future.