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 of the Week

November 2000

SHEBA’S NECKLACE 

Maxim Gunn battles his old foe Wanda Liszt, who seeks to conquer Africa using Sheba’s necklace, the Great Snake. Sir Richard Trelawney knew Gunn’s maternal grandfather, James Rassendyll. Receiving a note about Wanda’s whereabouts signed only “T.,” Gunn orders more coffee, and thinks, “In what might have been the words of the immortal Holmes, it looked like being a three-pot problem.” A quotation from the rite Wanda intends to perform is given: “That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons, even death may die.” Gunn thinks of a lover of his named Frances, and later about a man he’d known in Los Angeles’ Chinatown named Kwai Chang Caine. Gunn is helped by the Zulu M’hlopekazi, who identifies himself as the great-grandson of Umslopogaas who fought with Macumazahn. 

Novel by Nicholas Boving, originally published as Maxim Gunn and Sheba’s Necklace in 2012; revised as Maxim Gunn: Sheba’s Necklace, Pro Se Productions, 2017. The Great Snake is from John Buchan’s Prester John. Boving’s The Sun Fortress established that Gunn was a descendant of Rudolf Rassendyll from Anthony Hope’s The Prisoner of Zenda and Rupert of Hentzau. The immortal Holmes needs no introduction at this point. “That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die” is a quotation from the Necronomicon appearing in H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Nameless City” and “The Call of Cthulhu.” Frances West is the protagonist of Boving’s Castle Dark, which has a prominent appearance by Gunn. Kwai Chang Caine II is from the television series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. Umslopogaas is Allan Quatermain’s Zulu companion in H. Rider Haggard’s novels. “Macumazahn” was Quatermain’s nickname among the natives. At one point, Gunn thinks Oksana, High Priestess of the Temple of Am-mut, who uses a green flame to maintain her immortality, may have been the inspiration for Haggard’s character Ayesha. Since we know She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed is a real person in the CU, Gunn is mistaken, but Oksana’s green flame may be connected to Ayesha’s Fire of Life. 

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

Early Spring 1898

KINGDOM OF THE BLIND

            Appearing or mentioned are: Sylvia Pence; Count Salvatore Corbucci; Catarina Corbucci (aka the Blind Spinner); Noel Moriarty; the Gentlemen of the Night; the Black Coats; the Agnes de la Fere Athletic Club; Rochelle Moreau; Orianne Coyatier; Ecstasy Parker; Norman Head; Koutatsu of Shimosa Province; Sumeru Yuki; the Iga clan; Senzo; Marga Sandorf; the Order of the Serpent Heart; Baron Von Schulenberg; Colonel Skimmel; Aristide Sandorf; Dr. Eric Malbodius; Madame Sara’s Perfumery; Senora Pilar Reloj; the Pallid Mask; the Chupin Detective Agency; Chief Inspector Jacques Lefevre; Irina Putine; Vathelos; Anna Beringer; Leonard Wolfe; Superintendent Ford; the Koga clan; the White Priest; the Countess Yalta Memorial Hospital; the Royal Palace Hotel; the Regenerator of Fashion; Joséphine Balsamo; Ace Sartana; Maude North; the hero of the dime novel The Man from Minnesota; Mary Holder; Sir George Burnwell; the Old Fellow; La Frenaie wine; Dr. Antonio Nikola; Tarao Hanzo; Inspector Justin Ganimard; Helen Lipsius; Cesarine Caoutchouc; Colonel Clay; Alexander Holder; a blade used by the legendary Yagyu family to slay demons; and Julius Von Herder.

            Short story by Rick Lai in Sisters of the Shadows: The Cagliostro Curse, Black Coat Press, 2013. Sylvia Pence is meant to be Madame Sylvia from L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace’s story “Finger Tips,” included in the collection The Oracle of Maddox Street. Catarina Corbucci is better known as Madame Koluchy, from Meade and Eustace’s The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings; here, she is conflated with the Blind Spinner from John Buchan’s The Three Hostages. Norman Head, Anna Beringer, and Superintendent Ford are also from The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings. Madame Sara’s Perfumery is from another book by Meade and Eustace, The Sorceress of the Strand. Count Salvatore Corbucci dueled with A. J. Raffles in E. W. Hornung’s “The Fate of Faustina” and “The Last Laugh.” Noel Moriarty is Professor Moriarty’s younger brother, who was mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes novel The Valley of Fear. Ecstasy Parker is the sister of Larry Parker from Doyle and Watson’s “The Adventure of the Empty House.” Julius Von Herder is also from that story, although his first name is Lai’s invention, and is meant to imply he is the father of the titular villain of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel Dr. No. Mary Holder, Sir George Burnwell, and Alexander Holder are from another Holmes tale, “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet.” The Gentlemen of the Night are from Paul Féval’s The Mysteries of London. The Black Coats are a criminal conspiracy featured in a series of novels by Féval. Orianne Coyatier’s grandfather Jean-François Coaytier, also known as the Marchef, was the Black Coats’ executioner. The Agnes de la Fere Athletic Club is named after the main character (also known as Dark Agnes de Chastillon) of Robert E. Howard’s stories “Sword Woman,” “Blades for France,” and “Mistress of Death.” Vathelos is from Howard’s Conan story “Black Colossus.” The experiments of Rochelle Moreau’s father were chronicled in H. G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau, while her uncle Bernard is mentioned in the film La Residencia. Koutatsu of Shimosa Province and Senzo are from the movie Zatoichi’s Cane-Sword. Sumeru Yuki is related to the Marquis Sumuru from Sax Rohmer’s novels dealing with the Marquis’ villainous widow. The Iga and Koga ninja clans are historical, but their feud formed the basis for the Japanese television series Shadow Warriors. Tarao Hanzo is also from that series. Marga Sandorf’s uncle is the title character of Jules Verne’s novel Mathias Sandorf. The Order of the Serpent Heart is meant to be the secret society from H. Rider Haggard’s Heart of the World. Baron Von Schulenberg is from the film The Big Gundown, while Colonel Skimmel is from the movie Adios Sabata. Here, the Baron and the Colonel are identified as cousins; both were played by Gérard Herter. Aristide Sandorf is meant to be the villain Orlowsky from the movie Django Strikes Again. Dr. Eric Malbodius is meant to be Norbert Jacques’ criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse. Senora Pilar Reloj is Pilar from the film A Stranger in Town; Lai’s story “Cut the Branch” revealed she married her fellow outlaw Gordo Reloj, who is meant to be Gordo Watch from the movie Arizona Colt. The Pallid Mask will later be known as Fantômas; his alias in this story is derived from Robert W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow. The Royal Palace Hotel is from the first Fantômas book, while the Old Fellow is from the seventh novel in the series, Le Pendu de Londres. Maude North is the villain’s late Boer wife mentioned in The Daughter of Fantômas. The Chupin Detective Agency, headed by Victor “Toto” Chupin, is from the works of Emile Gaboriau, as is the Regenerator of Fashion. Chief Inspector Jacques Lefevre is from the movie Bluebeard. Irina Putine is meant to be Irene Tupin from La Residencia. Leonard Wolfe is from R. Austin Freeman’s Dr. Thorndyke tale “The Aluminium Dagger.” The White Priest is Pai Mei of Chinese legend and film; his tendency to pluck out women’s eyes is an allusion to the movie Kill Bill: Vol. 2, which features a flashback in which Pai Mei rips out Elle Driver’s right eye. The Countess Yalta Memorial Hospital is named after a character from Fortuné du Boisgobey’s The Lost Casket (aka The Severed Hand); at the end of the novel, there are plans to construct a hospital in the Countess’ memory somewhere in France. Joséphine Balsamo is from Maurice Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin books The Countess of Cagliostro and Countess Cagliostro’s Revenge. Inspector Justin Ganimard is also from the Lupin tales. Ace Sartana is the Spaghetti Western hero Sartana combined with the Ace of Hearts from the movie They Called Him Cemetery; both were played by Gianni Garko. The hero of The Man from Minnesota is the title character of the film Minnesota Clay. La Frenaie wine is from the Averoigne tales by Clark Ashton Smith. Dr. Antonio Nikola was the subject of novels by Guy Boothby. Helen Lipsius is meant to be the Helen who worked for Dr. Lipsius in Arthur Machen’s The Three Hostages; her usage of the doctor’s surname is meant to suggest she is his mistress, just as Carl Peterson’s mistress Irma is often referred to as Irma Peterson. Cesarine Caoutchouc and Colonel Clay are from Grant Allen’s An African Millionaire. The Yagyu blade is from the film Samurai Reincarnation.

Crossover of the Week

December 1896

CUT THE BRANCH

Appearing or mentioned are: the Black Coats; Joséphine Balsamo; the House of Crafts; Dr. Antonio Nikola; Catarina Corbucci; Count Salvatore Corbucci; Professor James Moriarty; Madame Fourneau’s College for Young Women; Norman Head; Noel Moriarty; Irina Putine; the Chupin Detective Agency; Urania Caber; the golden ram crest of the Cagliostro family; the Gentlemen of the Night; Orianne Coyatier; Rochelle Moreau; Ramirez; Professor Chavain; Madame Sara (aka Sarah Warrender); Colleen Pegler; the White Lodge; Frank Moran; Colonel Sebastian Moran; Patrick Dickson; Hamish Webb; Stangerson’s Disassociation of Matter Through Electricity; the Brotherhood of the Seven Kings; Gordo Reloj; Pilar; Aguilar; the All-Father; Dominick Moriarty; Marga Sandorf; Aristide Orlowsky Sandorf; Baron Von Schulenberg; Manny Bennet; Solly Bennet; Corben Caine; Wilmot Rogers; Jefferson Gonzales; the Lanky Gunman; the Yankee Whistler; a friend of Gordo’s; Dupont-Verdier (aka Satanas); Jillian Blake; Leonard; Etienne Cressy Raimond D’Arcourt; Sharita; the Duchy of Strackenz; the Thuggee cult’s alliance with Naga worshippers; Achmet Genghis Khan; Gruesome Clayton; Carfax Abbey; Dracula; and Ballmeyer.

Short story by Rick Lai in Sisters of the Shadows: The Cagliostro Curse, Black Coat Press, 2013. The Black Coats are a criminal conspiracy featured in novels by Paul Féval. Orianne Coyatier is the granddaughter of Jean-François Coyatier (aka the Marchef), who acted as the Black Coats’ executioner. The All-Father is the leader of the Black Coats. The Gentlemen of the Night are from Féval’s The Mysteries of London. Joséphine Balsamo battled Arsène Lupin in Maurice Leblanc’s The Countess of Cagliostro. Leonard is also from that novel. The House of Crafts is an allusion to the criminal organization known as Krafthaus in John Buchan’s The Power-House. Dr. Antonio Nikola is a scientist and criminal mastermind featured in novels by Guy Boothby. Catarina Corbucci is meant to be Madame Koluchy from L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace’s The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings. Norman Head is also from Meade and Eustace’s novel. Madame Sara is from Meade and Eustace’s The Sorceress of the Strand; her alias of Sarah Warrender is meant to imply she is the mother of Miss Warrender from Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Uncle Jeremy’s Household.” Achmet Genghis Khan was identified as Miss Warrender’s father in Doyle’s tale. Count Salvatore Corbucci dueled with A. J. Raffles in E. W. Hornung’s “The Fate of Faustina” and “The Last Laugh.” Professor James Moriarty is Sherlock Holmes’ archenemy. Noel Moriarty (whose full name is James Noel Moriarty) is the Professor’s younger brother mentioned in The Valley of Fear. Colonel Sebastian Moran is Professor Moriarty’s second-in-command from “The Adventure of the Empty House.” In The Power-House, the Krafthaus’ leader Andrew Lumley lives in a house called the White Lodge; the implication of the White Lodge reference in Lai’s story is Lumley is actually Noel Moriarty. Madame Fourneau’s College for Young Women is from the Spanish horror film La Residencia. Irina Putine is an alias for Irene Tupin from the same film. Professor Chavain is based on Madame Fourneau’s reference to her former student, a noted botanist. The Chupin Detective Agency, run by Victor “Toto” Chupin, is from the works of Emile Gaboriau. Urania Caber is meant to be Urania Moriarty, the Professor’s daughter, whose existence was revealed by Philip José Farmer in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Jillian Blake is based on a reference to a Jill Fagin who married a Blake in Farmer’s book. The golden ram crest of the Cagliostro family is from the animated Lupin III film The Castle of Cagliostro. Rochelle Moreau is the daughter of H. G. Wells’ Dr. Moreau and the niece of Bernard Moreau, who is mentioned in La Residencia. Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez is from the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. “Colleen Pegler” is an alias for Peg Cullane from Louis L’Amour’s The Man Called Noon. Frank Moran is Francis “Colt” Moran from the film Today It’s Me…Tomorrow You! Patrick Dickson is meant to be Tricky the Gambler from the movie The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe. Hamish Webb is meant to be James Webb from the movie Black Killer. Stangerson’s Disassociation of Matter Through Electricity is from Gaston Leroux’s first Rouletabille novel, The Mystery of the Yellow Room. Ballmeyer is Rouletabille’s father. Gordo Reloj is meant to be Gordo Watch from the film Arizona Colt (aka The Man from Nowhere); “reloj”is Spanish for “watch.” Pilar and Aguilar are from the film A Stranger in Town. Dominick Moriarty is meant to be Dominick Medina from John Buchan’s The Three Hostages. Marga Sandorf is the niece of the title character of Jules Verne’s novel Mathias Sandorf. Aristide Orlowsky Sandorf is meant to be the Hungarian villain Orlowsky from the movie Django Strikes Again. Baron Von Schulenberg is from the movie The Big Gundown. Manny Bennet is meant to be Manuel from the film Cemetery Without Crosses. Corben Caine and Wilmot Rogers are Ben Caine and Will Rogers from the same film. Solly Bennet is Solomon “Beauregard” Bennet from the movie Face to Face. Jefferson Gonzales is from the film Ringo and His Golden Pistol. The Lanky Gunman is Hank “Lanky” Fellows from the movie A Taste for Killing. The Yankee Whistler is the title character of the movie Yankee. Gordo’s friend is Frank Talby from the movie Day of Anger. Satanas is from Louis Feuillade’s film serial Les Vampires; in the English language translation of the serial, Satanas’ real name is given as Claude Dupont-Verdier. Etienne Cressy Raimond D’Arcourt and Sharita are from Gardner F. Fox’s novel Woman of Kali. The Duchy of Strackenz is from George MacDonald Fraser’s Royal Flash; here, it is implied to be the same country as the Duchy of Cagliostro from The Castle of Cagliostro. The alliance between the Thuggee and Naga worshippers is from Emilio Salgari’s Sandokan novels. Gruesome Clayton is Sir William Clayton from Farmer’s Tarzan Alive and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Carfax Abbey is from Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Crossover Covers: Maxim Gunn

Pro Se Press has collected Nicholas Boving's Maxim Gunn novels in two omnibus editions. In the first novel, Gunn is an agent of the British Intelligence group known as the Organization, but in the following novels he works independently of them. Given that Boving has contributed to the Tales of the Shadowmen series and other anthologies for Black Coat Press, it is not surprising that the series has a few crossovers. In the first novel, The Chaos Project, Gunn battles the evil Wanda Liszt, who is planning to conquer the world with the aid of Queen Sheba’s Necklace. Wanda’s father, Otto Liszt, had been cast in the mold of the great criminals, like Carl Peterson and Professor Moriarty. Queen Sheba's Necklace is from John Buchan's novel Prester John. Buchan’s Richard Hannay novels contain references to John Laputa and Captain Arcoll, both of whom appear in Prester John. Carl Peterson is Bulldog Drummond’s archenemy. Professor Moriarty needs no further introduction. Philip José Farmer identified Peterson as Professor Moriarty’s grandson. In the second novel, The Demon Plan, MI5 sends Harry Pearce to recruit Gunn, now retired from the Organization, for a mission. Pearce is from the TV series Spooks (aka MI-5 in the United States.) In the fifth book, The Sun Fortress, Gunn rescues the kidnapped Princess Alicia Flavia of Ruritania. Gunn, who is revealed to be a descendant of Rudolf Rassendyll, is also acquainted with a half-Chinese Shaolin priest in California. This is a reference to Kwai Chang Caine II from the television series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, himself the grandson of the original Kwai Chang Caine from the Western series Kung Fu. In the sixth novel, The Leopard Legion, Gunn meets Alex Arcoll, the great-grandson of Captain Arcoll from Prester John, and his Shaolin monk friend is mentioned again.