Crossover of the Week

Spring 1939 

THE SONG OF THE STORM 

A gangster’s henchman brings I. V. Frost the remains of a manuscript his boss burned, about one of Thomas Carnacki’s cases. In the manuscript, Carnacki identifies the charm on Sir Evan Chichester’s watch as the Talisman of Byagoona, which legend holds dates to antediluvian Stygia, and can allegedly switch one person’s mind into another’s body. The ancient sorcerer currently inhabiting the gangster’s body was given the Talisman by Byagoona. He tells Frost about some of his old foes, including the greatest swordsman in Spanish California and a famous gunfighter and his lover. The entity Rhagorthua taught him how to summon a storm by singing. 

Short story by Matthew Baugh in I. V. Frost: Tales of Mystery and Scientific Detection, Joe Gentile and Kim Perisin, eds., Moonstone Books, 2017. Thomas Carnacki is from William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder. Byagoona is a Great Old One from James Ambuehl’s “The Bane of Byagoona.” Stygia is from Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. The sorcerer wielding the Talisman battled Zorro in Baugh’s story “Zorro and the Bruja” (More Tales of Zorro, Richard Dean Starr, ed., Moonstone Books, 2010), and a fictionalized version of the historical gunfighter Mysterious Dave Mather in his tale “Trail of the Brujo” (Low Noon: Tales of Horror and Dark Fantasy from the Weird Weird West, David B. Riley, ed., Science Fiction Trails, 2012). Rhagorthua is from David Conyers’ “A Handful of Dust.” 

This crossover writeup is one of over a thousand included 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

May 26, 1846

THE LAMENT OF THE DUKE AND THE KING 

The so-called Duke of Bridgewater and King of France hop a train, and in the process meet Doctor Omega and his companion Miki. The Doctor gives the conductor a Hynerian sixteen harzmo gold piece. They are joined by the Doctor's other companion, the Steel General. The King says he is the long-lost Dauphin of France, and that he used to be visited by a woman named Madame LaFarge. The Chevalier de Maison-Rouge allegedly tried to rescue the King’s mother. An artist named La Salle was sent by the Baron de Batz to rescue the Dauphin and replace him with a lookalike. When he nearly drowned, a man named Moreau rescued him. The General claims he incited Moreau’s animal people to revolt, but the Doctor clarifies that the King means Andre-Louis Moreau, who he and Miki saw costar with Marguerite St. Just in a play called Don Juan Triumphant in 1791. De Batz was working with the Scarlet Pimpernel, who the Duke claims was the Prince-Regent’s butler, Mr. Edmund Blackadder. The Pimpernel turned the Dauphin over to a smuggler dressed as a scarecrow, who handed him off in turn to an American named Bumppo. The Doctor refers to Miki’s colossal, radioactive, reptilian friend, and says General Santa Anna has the services of an evil scientist named Dr. Campos, who has uncovered a mind control device left on Earth centuries ago by an alien named Kukulcan. 

Short story by Matthew Baugh in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 12: Carte Blanche, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2015; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 20), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2017. The Duke of Bridgewater and the King of France are from Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Doctor Omega is the title character of Arnould Galopin’s novel. Miki Saegusa is from the Godzilla movies. Although the massive level of destruction seen in the films does not fit into the CU, other crossovers indicate a version of Godzilla exists in the CU whose exploits are much less Earth-shattering. The Hynerian Empire is from the television series Farscape. The Steel General is from Roger Zelazny’s Creatures of Light and Darkness. Madame LaFarge (or rather DeFarge) is from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. The Chevalier de Maison-Rouge is from Alexandre Dumas’ eponymous novel. Florence de La Salle is from Rafael Sabatini’s The Lost King. The Baron de Batz is a historical figure who appears in both that book and Sabatini’s Scaramouche, whose title character is really Andre-Louis Moreau. The other Moreau and his animal people are from H. G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau. Marguerite St. Just is the wife of Sir Percy Blakeney, aka Baroness Orczy’s hero the Scarlet Pimpernel. The play Don Juan Triumphant is the basis for the opera of the same name penned by the title character of Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. Edmund Blackadder is from the television series Blackadder the Third. The smuggler dressed as a scarecrow is Russell Thorndike’s Dr. Syn, aka Captain Clegg and the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. Natty Bumppo is from James Fenimore Cooper’s The Leatherstocking Tales. Dr. Campos is from the movie Santo Contra Hombres Infernales. Kukulcan is from the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode “How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth” and the Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle episode “Tarzan and the Space God.” 

This crossover writeup is one of over a thousand appearing 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

Summer 1940

LADIES’ DAY 

Ellen Patrick (aka the Domino Lady) and her friend Diana are at a hair salon when the shop is held up by criminals led by a woman called Madame Orchid, who is looking for the owner. Ellen came to New York on the S.S. Claridon. Diana is romantically involved with a man named Kit, who “comes and goes like a ghost.” Other customers at the salon include a matronly society woman named Mrs. Claypool; Miss Dawn, a nightclub singer who’s been seeing a gang boss named Rocco; Jean Moray, and a former FBI agent who now works for a private citizen who specializes in taking down criminals like Madame Orchid and likes to stay in the shadows. The latter woman puts on makeup to appear Chinese and calls herself “Ming.” Madame Orchid seeks to collect ransom from the globetrotting cousin of the salon’s owner. Said owner is a tall, gorgeous woman with deeply tanned skin and bronze hair. Madame Orchid turns out to be Millicent MacGyver, a vengeful former employee of the salon. 

Short story by Matthew Baugh in Gentlemen Prefer Domino Lady, David Boop and Kim Perisin, eds., Moonstone Books, 2020. The Domino Lady is from Lars Anderson’s stories in the “spicy” pulps. Diana is Diana Palmer, the girlfriend (and later wife) of Kit Walker, aka the Phantom and the Ghost Who Walks. The S.S. Claridon is from the movie The Last Voyage. Mrs. Claypool is from the Marx Brothers movie A Night at the Opera. Gaye Dawn and Johnny Rocco are from the film Key Largo. Jean Moray is the assistant of scientific detective I. V. “Ivy” Frost, who appeared in stories by Donald Wandrei in the magazine Clues Detective Stories. The former FBI agent is an agent of the shadowy pulp hero, and frequently assumes the guise of a Chinese woman named Ming during her investigations. The salon’s owner is the bronze man’s cousin. Millicent MacGyver is presumably a relative of Angus MacGyver from the television series MacGyver. “Ming” became an agent of the shadowy vigilante in the novel The Invincible Shiwan Khan, which Rick Lai placed in late September 1939, so this story probably takes place in the early 1940s. 

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: Decently and Quietly Dead

 

In this story by Matthew Baugh, Mysterious Dave Mather is forcibly recruited by Judge Parker to apprehend a cult leader called Jehoiakim. Mather was interrupted during a dalliance with a prostitute by two of Parker’s marshals, Dave Bliss and One-Eyed Cogburn. When Mather shows Sheriff Teague the silver bullets he intends to use on Jehoiakim, Teague says he has heard of a man who uses silver bullets, supposedly as a reminder of the cost of human life. Jehoiakim intends to summon Tawil-at-U’mr. Mysterious Dave Mather was a real lawman, gunfighter, and sometime criminal in the Old West. Baugh’s fiction portrays him as a fighter against supernatural evil, particularly the beings of the Cthulhu Mythos. Marshal Dave Bliss is from the movie Hang 'em High. One-Eyed Cogburn is Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn from Charles Portis’ True Grit. The man who uses silver bullets is the Lone Ranger. Tawil-at-U’mr is an avatar of Yog-Sothoth in H. P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price’s “Through the Gates of the Silver Key.”

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 of the Week

June 1981

KUMIHO 

Carl Kolchak encounters the fox-maiden from Korean mythology, which can assume the form of a beautiful woman. Tony Vincenzo sends Kolchak to Chicago to cover the de Grandin Metaphysical Symposium. Tony tells Carl there are going to be some important metaphysical speakers there, including John Thunstone, William Sebastian, and Harry Snowden. The moderator is a tall, blonde man named Rhodes. The Kumiho’s former lover shows Kolchak a book called The Darkness Out of the East. Captain Joseph “Mad Dog” Siska is learning tai chi from Master Li Sung. An old contact of Kolchak’s lends him a dog named Casca. 

Short story by Matthew Baugh in Kolchak the Night Stalker: Passages of the Macabre, Dave Ulanski and Tracey Hill, eds., Moonstone Books, 2016. The de Grandin Metaphysical Symposium is named after Seabury Quinn’s occult investigator Jules de Grandin. John Thunstone is one of Manly Wade Wellman’s occult detectives. Thunstone’s The Darkness Out of the East appears in the Jules de Grandin story “The Green God’s Ring.” William Sebastian is from the TV movie Spectre. Harry Snowden is from the TV movies Fear No Evil and Ritual of Evil. Dr. Michael Rhodes is from the TV series The Sixth Sense. Li Sung is a blind martial arts master played by Mako in The Incredible Hulk episodes “Another Path” and “The Disciple.” Mako also played a Triad leader named Li Sung in the Kung Fu: The Legend Continues episodes “Tournament” and “Veil of Tears.” This Li Sung could see and was a descendant of the emperor’s nephew killed by the first Kwai Chang Caine in the original Kung Fu. The two Li Sungs are probably related. Casca is named after the immortal mercenary from Barry Sadler’s novels. This story takes place during Kolchak’s tenure with the Hollywood Dispatch, in a year where June 4 falls on a Thursday. 1981 is the first year after the original run of Kolchak: The Night Stalker that fits that parameter. 

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! Like 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 of the Week

February 1944

THE CURSE OF KUKULKAN 

In Mexico, the Avenger battles his old foe Sun Koh, who is impersonating the Mayan god Kukulkan, and the Sons of the Feathered Serpent, who are trying to get their hands on the Aztec gold that finances Benson’s crimefighting activities. Cole Wilson drives an open-topped Hirondel Roadster. Cole’s fiancée Heather is headed to Hollywood to talk to producers about starring in a remake of a Rhonda Terry jungle movie. General Leslie Groves, impressed by Benson’s imposture of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, says “I don’t think even Basil Karlo or Lon Chaney, Sr. could have fooled my men.” Benson names others capable of remarkable disguises, such as a Japanese criminal called Kaijin Niju Menso. Smitty asks if he should contact “the usual archaeology types”: Smith, Jones, and Littlejohn. In Central Asia, Benson once met an elderly Norwegian explorer named Sigerson, who had a brilliant deductive mind. The archaeologists connect Rosabel Newton with a retired criminologist in New Jersey named de Grandin, who says the Sons of the Feathered Serpent are strongest in Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Hidalgo, and Nicaragua, and that they were united in the nineteenth century by a revolutionary named Don Ignatio. There was a string of feathered serpent killings in London in the '20s, and a “Quetzal” spy ring in the States a few years ago. Rosabel also contacted a friend of Professor Smith’s, Sir Lionel Barton, as well as Professor Rolfe at the University of Arizona, who told her about a series of Yaqui uprisings in the 1820s instigated by an individual called Don del Oro. Don Manuel Garcia, brother of Juan, tells Benson that Satan, Iblis, Mara, Erlik Khan, Ravana, Loki, Angra Mainyu, Tezcatlipoca, and many more are all reflections of the first evil figure, Kathulos of Atlantis, also known as Baal Seepa, the Lord of the Dark Face. He also claims that Mithras, Jesus, Horus, and Buddha are all pale shadows of Assurah, the Phoenix. Besides Uxmal and the cache used by Benson and discovered by Nellie Gray’s father, the Seven Cities of Gold include Cibola in Arizona, near the Lake of Fire, Omoxotl in Guatemala, el Valle de los que desaparecieron in Hidalgo, and Tucumai in Brazil. The Plumed Serpent cult was revived in 1923 by a wealthy landowner named Don Ramón and his compatriot General Viedma. Sun Koh’s aide Dr. Peters, the inventor of the katascope, refers to vril rods. Garcia says Sun Koh knows all the hidden places built by the Atlanteans, including Uxmal, Opar, Thule, and the realms of Prester John. Hal Mervin is another of Sun Koh’s aides. Inspector Madero works with Justice, Inc. on this case. 

Story by Matthew Baugh in The Avenger: Double Feature 2, Moonstone Books, 2020. Sun Koh appeared in the German pulp magazine Sun Koh – Die Erbe von Atlantis, written by Paul Alfred Müller. Don Manuel Garcia, his brother Juan, Dr. Peters, his katascope, and Hal Mervin are from the Sun Koh novels. The Sons of the Feathered Serpent are from the first Doc Savage novel, The Man of Bronze. Littlejohn is one of Doc’s aides. The country of Hidalgo and el Valle de los que desaparecieron (a Spanish translation of its English name) are also from the Doc Savage novels. The Hirondel is the car driven by Leslie Charteris’ character Simon Templar, the Saint. Ms. Terry is from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan and the Lion Man. Heather’s offered role is also referenced in Win Scott Eckert’s novel Hunt the Avenger. Opar is from the Tarzan novels. Actor Basil Karlo is better known as Batman’s foe Clayface. “Kaijin Niju Menso” is Japanese for “The Fiend with Twenty Faces,” the alias used by the archenemy of Edogawa Rampo’s detective Kogoro Akechi. Professor Horatio Smith is from the movie Pimpernel Smith. Jones is Indiana Jones. Sigerson is an alias used by Sherlock Holmes during the Great Hiatus, as revealed in Doyle and Watson’s “The Adventure of the Empty House.” Jules de Grandin is Seabury Quinn’s occult detective. Don Ignatio is from H. Rider Haggard’s novel Heart of the World. The feathered serpent killings in London in the 1920s are a reference to Edgar Wallace’s novel The Feathered Serpent. The Quetzal spy ring is from the Shadow novel Quetzal. Omoxotl is the home of the Xinca Indians who served the shadowy vigilante. Sir Lionel Barton is from Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu novels. Professor Rolfe is meant to be the adopted son of Dr. James Rolfe and Paviva from the movie The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold. Cibola is the eponymous city in that film. Don del Oro is the villain of the movie serial Zorro’s Fighting Legion. Kathulos is from Robert E. Howard’s “Skull Face.” Baal Seepa is from Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Maracot Deep. Assurah, the Phoenix is from Henry Kuttner’s Elak of Atlantis story “Beyond the Phoenix.” Tucumai is from Fritz Leiber’s novelization of the movie Tarzan and the Valley of Gold, which has been declared canon by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Don Ramón and General Viedma are from D. H. Lawrence’s novel The Plumed Serpent. The vril is from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s The Coming Race. Inspector Madero is José Manuel Madero, the protagonist of “Geoffrey Homes’” (Daniel Mainwaring) mystery novels The Case of the Mexican Knife (aka The Street of the Crying Woman) and The Hill of the Terrified Monk (aka Dead as a Dummy). 

This 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! Like the first two, this volume is an AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

Spring 1925
THE PECULIAR CATS OF THE SEA OF DREAMS 
Ismeddin guides Madame Palmyre, Victoria Custer, Mademoiselle Kephra, and Renée to Atlänaat, where they seek a Dreamer. The ladies, after eating drugged fruit, awaken in a vault that has carvings in Arabic script from the writings of an Arab scholar of centuries past, which an American translated as, “That does not sleep, which doth eternal lie, and in strange aeons, even death may die.” Victoria wants to find her lover, Nu, son of Nu, who her brother says she only dreamed was alive. Madame Palmyre believes the Dreamer is her former lover, a god known variously as Azathoth, Cthulhu, Mana-Yood-Sushai, and Baal. The Dreamer sends them to Earth’s Dreamlands. The women meet Randolph Carter, formerly of Boston and currently of Celephaïs. Carter’s bookshelves hold titles such as Astral and Astarral Co-Ordination and Interference, the Black Tome of Alsophocus, the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan, and the Necronomicon. Carter says his passions are reserved for his books, cats, and his quest to see the Great Ones in their unknown home of Kadath. A cat who gained the power to speak in the waking world after eating his master’s parrot guides the women and Carter past the turquoise temple of Nath-Horthath. Victoria is abducted by men who take her to the Black Galleys, which typically frequent the port of Dylath-Leen. Carter says a shantak-bird could fly his friends to Dylath-Leen, but he does not know how to summon them. Instead, they are transported inside a strange catlike creature. Our heroines confront the men from Leng, as well as creatures resembling bipedal frogs with pink tentacles where their faces should be. 
Short story by Matthew Baugh in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 16: Voir Dire, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2019; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 27), Jean-Marc Lofficier, ed., Rivière Blanche, 2020. Ismeddin is the protagonist of a series of stories by E. Hoffmann Price. Atlänaat and the Dreamer are from Price’s stories “The Dreamer of Atlänaat” and “A Jest and a Vengeance.” Madame Palmyre and Baal are from Renée Dunan’s novel Baal. Victoria Custer and Nu are from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ The Eternal Lover. Victoria’s brother Barney is the protagonist of Burroughs’ The Mad King. Mademoiselle Kephra is Cleo Kefra from Jack Mann’s Gees novels Maker of Shadows and The Ninth Life. The Arab scholar is Abdul Alhazred, and the passage quoted is from his Necronomicon, one of the occult tomes of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Azathoth and Cthulhu are also from the Mythos. Mana-Yood-Sushai is from Lord Dunsany’s The Gods of Pegana. The Dreamlands are from Lovecraft and Price’s “Through the Gates of the Silver Key” and the other tales in Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle. Celephaïs is from Lovecraft’s story of the same name, as well as the Dream Cycle tale “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,” as is Nath-Horthath. Astral and Astarral Co-Ordination and Interference is from William Hope Hodgson’s “The Whistling Room,” a tale of Carnacki, the ghost-finder. The Black Tome of Alsophocus is from Lovecraft and Martin S. Warnes’ titular story. The Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan are from “The Other Gods” and “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.” Kadath is seen or mentioned in several of Lovecraft’s stories. The talking cat is from Joann Sfar’s comic book The Rabbi’s Cat. The Black Galleys, Dylath-Leen, the shantak-birds, the Men of Leng, and the froglike creatures (the Moon-beasts) are from “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.” The Catbus is from the animated film My Neighbor Totoro. 
This crossover write-up is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! Much like the first two volumes, this book is an AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

1918

DEAD MEN’S BONES

Charles St. Cyprian, Sergeant Bass of the American 81st Infantry Division, and Thomas Carnacki are camped outside the fortress of Ylourgne in the province of Averoigne. St. Cyprian had to leave the company of a young woman he met at the cabaret in Vyones in order to go on this mission. Carnacki says he believes there is an oil painting of Ylourgne, or rather the Chateau de Faussesflammes, in the Louvre. The adventures of Carnacki, England’s present Royal Occultist, appeared in the pages of The Idler, just as those of the Great Detective had appeared in The Strand. Corpses throughout Averoigne are coming back as zombies, in places such as Vyones, Les Hiboux, and Ximes. The Isoile is mentioned. Professor Max Ewer tells the trio Ylourgne was the site of one of the greatest acts of alchemical diabolism in this age or any other, according to the writings of one Gaspard du Nord: a dwarf named Nathaire made a giant monster out of dead men’s bones, which rampaged through Vyones. Carnacki refers to the 266 Squadron RFC.

Short story by Josh Reynolds in Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, Tim Marquitz and Nickolas Sharps, eds., Ragnarok Publications, 2014. Charles St. Cyprian is the protagonist of Reynolds’ Royal Occultist stories, which take place after he has assumed the role previously played by Carnacki. Sergeant Bass is John Bass, an occult detective from Jackapo, South Carolina featured in several of Reynolds’ stories. Thomas Carnacki appeared in stories by William Hope Hodgson published in The Idler, which were later collected as Carnacki the Ghost-Finder. Ylourgne, Averoigne, Vyones, the Chateau de Faussesflammes, Les Hiboux, Ximes, the Isoile River, Gaspard du Nord, and Nathaire are from the works of Clark Ashton Smith. This marks the second attempt by a madman to create their own version of Nathaire’s Colossus during the Great War; the first was in 1916, as seen in Matthew Baugh’s “What Rough Beast.” The Great Detective is Sherlock Holmes. The 266 Squadron RFC, from W. E. Johns’ Biggles books, is not to be confused with the real 266 Squadron RAF.

 

Crossover of the Week

June 1967

HONEY WEST & T. H. E. CAT: A GIRL AND HER CAT

P.I. Honey West is visited by Dr. Isabella Fang, who smokes Red Apple Cigarettes. Dr. Fang hires Honey to recover an alleged rubella vaccine she developed, as well as a pocket watch, which have both been stolen by Dr. Karl Stipier. Accepting the case, Honey asks another Los Angeles-based detective named Scott to handle her other cases in the meantime, and travels to San Francisco. Honey’s old flame Johnny Doom, now a CIA agent, comes to her aid alongside two men she dubs Gray Suit and Blondie. Honey and Johnny book a room at the St. Francis hotel, although Gray Suit recommended the Hotel Carlton. Johnny reveals to Honey the “vaccine” is actually a biological weapon of a class the government has codenamed “Satan Bugs,” and Gray Suit and Blondie are members of a worldwide organization that is in regular conflict with a criminal organization and “secret nation” that has tried to form an alliance with an Eastern secret society known as the Si-Fan. Johnny calls another government agent, Derek, for information about Stipier and Fang. Derek says there are fearful whispers about Fang at The Dragon of the Black Pool in Chinatown. Honey tells Johnny she thinks she recognized Derek’s voice from a couple recent cases. Honey and Johnny are abducted by Dr. Fang’s grandfather, Dr. Shan Ming Fu, the leader of the Si-Fan. One of Shan Ming Fu’s minions is a sumo wrestler. At the elder doctor’s recommendation, Honey enlists the help of Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat, former circus aerialist and cat burglar turned owner of the Casa del Gato nightclub and bodyguard, to retrieve the biological agent. Honey came to Cat’s aid in Las Vegas a year ago. Besides Cat, Honey also meets his friend Pepe Cordoza and Captain McAllister of the SFPD. Stipier bought the mansion Silverstone West, which was built in the 1940s by an eccentric multi-millionaire named Tipton, from an employee of the latter’s named Michael Anthony. A man with a bowler hat and an odd rifle attacks Honey and Cat as they flee Stipier’s mansion with the Satan Bug and the watch. Honey’s great-grandfather, James, was a major during the Civil War, and later was involved in government work. Cat did some bodyguard work for a scientist named Dr. Quest last year; Quest’s wife was killed and his son was in danger. An agent for Intelligence One now guards the Quests. Honey was instructed in judo by a man named Macreedy, while Cat was taught how to tie knots by a young escape artist named Tony Blake. Honey arranges for a friend named Ben, who works at County General Hospital, to make a capsule that can pass for the real Satan Bug in order to deceive Shan Ming Fu. Blondie remarks Mr. Baldwin, the head of his organization’s primary enemy’s San Francisco offices, will be disappointed by Shan Ming Fu’s continued refusal to form an alliance with them.

Novel by Honey West, edited by Win Scott Eckert and Matthew Baugh, Moonstone Books, 2014. Honey West is a private investigator featured in novels by “G. G. Fickling” (Gloria and Forest Fickling). In the novel Bombshell, set in 1964, Honey and bounty hunter Johnny Doom are offered employment in the CIA. Honey evidently turned down the offer, as she had several adventures as a P.I. between Bombshell and A Girl and Her Cat, which were depicted in Fickling’s novels, the 1965-1966 Honey West TV series, and several stories and comics published by Moonstone. In the novel Honey on Her Tail, which takes place three years after this book, Honey finally becomes a CIA agent. Dr. Isabella Fang is the daughter of the villainous Dr. Fang, who had his own radio series in the 1930s. Isabella encountered the Green Hornet and Kato in 1964 during the events of Eckert’s story “Fang and Sting” (The Green Hornet Chronicles, Joe Gentile and Win Scott Eckert, eds., Moonstone Books, 2010). In 1974, Isabella and her grandfather would once again encounter the Hornet in Eckert’s “Progress” (The Green Hornet: Still at Large, Joe Gentile, Win Scott Eckert, and Matthew Baugh, eds., Moonstone Books, 2012). Dr. Shan Ming Fu is better known by the nom de guerre Dr. Fu Manchu; Dennis E. Power revealed the Devil Doctor’s birth name in his article “The Devil Doctor: The Early History of Fu Manchu” (found on the website The Wold Newton Universe: A Secret History). The Si-Fan is the secret society run by Fu Manchu in the novels by Sax Rohmer. Red Apple Cigarettes have appeared in a number of films, including Pulp Fiction, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, as well as several other stories by Eckert. The watch is a working (albeit inferior) replica of one of the distorters used by the warring Capellean and Eridanean races in Philip José Farmer’s The Other Log of Phileas Fogg. Dr. Karl Stipier is meant to be Baron von Hessel from Farmer’s Doc Savage novel Escape from Loki; von Hessel also appears under a variety of aliases in other stories by Eckert. The other detective in Los Angeles is Richard S. Prather’s Shell Scott. Gray Suit and Blondie are Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin from the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. U.N.C.L.E.’s greatest foe is the criminal organization THRUSH, which attempted to form an alliance with the Si-Fan in David McDaniel’s novel The Rainbow Affair. The man in the bowler hat is an unnamed THRUSH agent seen in The Rainbow Affair. Ward Baldwin is in charge of THRUSH’s San Francisco offices in McDaniel’s novels. The Hotel Carlton is the home of Paladin in the television Western Have Gun–Will Travel. The term “Satan Bug” is derived from Alistair MacLean’s novel The Satan Bug. Derek is spy Derek Flint from the movies Our Man Flint and In Like Flint. Honey encountered Flint during the events of the Moonstone comic Honey West, Captain Action, and Flint: Danger-a-Go-Go. The Dragon of the Black Pool restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown is from the movie Big Trouble in Little China. The sumo wrestler, Tak, will later battle Fu Manchu’s rebellious son Shang-Chi, as seen in the comic book Special Marvel Edition. Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat, Pepe Cordoza, and Captain McAllister are from the 1966–1967 television series T. H. E. Cat. Honey’s 1966 encounter with Cat was recounted in the two-issue Moonstone comic Honey West and T. H. E. Cat: Death in the Desert. John Beresford Tipton and Michael Anthony are from the television series The Millionaire. Tipton’s estate in that series was called Silverstone; Silverstone West is Eckert and Baugh’s invention. Honey’s great-grandfather is Secret Service agent James West from the classic television series The Wild Wild West. Dr. Benton Quest, his son Jonny, and Intelligence One are from the animated TV series Jonny Quest. Cat’s replacement as the Quests’ bodyguard is Roger “Race” Bannon. Honey’s judo teacher is John J. Macreedy from the film Bad Day at Black Rock. Tony Blake is the title character of the television series The Magician. Ben Casey, a doctor at County General Hospital, is from the television series that bears his name. The Ben Casey episode “For This Relief, Much Thanks” began a two-part story that ended with “Solo for B-Flat Clarinet,” the first episode of Breaking Point, bringing in that medical drama as well.

Crossover of the Week

Here's a belated Crossover of the Week post, since I forgot to do one yesterday.

1857–1868

KEMOSABE

Young John Reid rescues and befriends a Potawatomi boy named Tonto. Ben Reid, John’s father, is a member of the Texas Rangers alongside Al King, Bobby Stuart, and Jake Cutter. A man named Favor appears. Tonto honed his tracking skills under a Kickapoo scout who often worked for the Rangers. Over a decade later, a grown Tonto comes to the aid of John Reid, now a Ranger himself, who has been wounded and his comrades killed in an ambush at Bryant’s Gap.

Short story by Matthew Baugh in The Lone Ranger Chronicles, Matthew Baugh and Tim Lasiuta, eds., Moonstone Books, 2012. This story recounts the first meeting between John Reid, the future Lone Ranger, and his faithful companion Tonto. Al King is a reference to Allen King, the Ranger’s alter ego in the 1938 film serial The Lone Ranger; obviously, the CU version of King is a distinct individual from the Ranger. Bobby (or Bob) Stuart is also from The Lone Ranger serial. Texas Ranger Jake Cutter is from Paul Wellman’s Western novel The Comancheros, and was played by John Wayne in the 1961 film version. Favor is Gil Favor, the trail boss from the television series Rawhide. The Kickapoo scout is Famous Shoes from Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove novels.

Crossover Cover: The Vampire Almanac (Volume 1)

This anthology of vampire stories published by Black Coat Press consists of several reprinted tales and seven new stories. Frank J. Morlock's "Entretien with a Vampire," Rick Lai's "All Predators Great and Small," Frank J. Morlock's "The Adventure of the Beneficent Vampire," and Win Scott Eckert's "Les Lèvres Rouges" were included by Win in the first two volumes of Crossovers. I had already read Rick's "Vampire Renaissance," Michel Stéphan's "The Three Lives of Maddalena," Matthew Baugh's "Quest of the Vourdalaki," Brian Gallagher's "City of the Nosferatu," Frank Schildiner's "The Blood of Frankenstein," Christofer Nigro's "The Ultimate Prize" and "Requiem for a Regime," and David McDonald's "The Girl from Odessa" and "The Lesser of Two Evils" when they were originally published and written them up. Of the seven stories new to this collection, five have crossovers. In Matthew Dennion's "Hope for Forgiveness," the Scarlet Pimpernel attempts to provide safe passage out of France to a woman named Lenore (who, unbeknownst to him, is a vampire), but is prevented from doing so by Captain Kronos. The Scarlet Pimpernel is from Baroness Orczy’s novels. Lenore is the title character of a ballad by Gottfried August Bürger, first published in 1774. Captain Kronos is from the Hammer film Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter.  In Martin Gately's "The Moon Hag," a metaphysician named Professor Quercus encounters Elsa Karnstein and her daughter Carmilla aboard a ship, and ultimately becomes their servant. Elsa and Karmilla initially claim to be Madame and Malicarla Strenkin of the House of Dolingen. Carmilla is the title character of the classic vampire story by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla’s mother Elsa and Professor Quercus also appear in Le Fanu’s story, though neither are referred to by name. The House of Dolingen is a reference to the vampire Countess Dolingen of Gratz from Bram Stoker’s story “Dracula’s Guest,” generally believed to be the deleted original first chapter of Dracula. In Matthew Dennion's "Predators and Prey," the Earthman Gullivar Jones reluctantly teams up with the vampires of Mars to rescue Princess Heru from the equally bloodthirsty Erloor. Gullivar Jones and Princess Heru are from Edwin L. Arnold’s novel Lieutenant Gullivar Jones: His Vacation. This story takes place a few days after the end of Arnold’s novel. The vampires of Mars and the Erloor are from Gustave Le Rouge’s novel The Vampires of Mars, which has been translated by Brian Stableford for Black Coat Press. In Artikel Unbekannt's "Blood and Fire," a libertine falls prey to two female vampires, one of whom is named Carody. The womanizer’s foe Dr. Orlof was also bitten by the two women. The Countess Nadine Carody is from Jesús Franco’s film Vampyros Lesbos, while Dr. Orlof (also spelled Orloff) is from Franco’s film The Awful Dr. Orloff and its sequels. In Nathan Cabaniss' "Schrodinger's Blood," Edward Delmont comes to the Sâr Dubnotal seeking help. The occult detective reveals that he is being slowly drained of blood via superposition by Alinska, a vampire in the 19^th century who has a grudge against his family. Alinska is from Etienne-Léon de Lamothe-Langon’s novel The Virgin Vampire. Edward Delmont is descended from Edouard Delmont, Alinska’s fiancé who spurned her for another woman. The Sâr Dubnotal appeared in a 1909-1910 French pulp series by an anonymous author. He has apparently aged little, if at all, since the early 20^th century, as this story takes place in the present day.