Crossover Cover: Tomb of Ancient Evil

 

Are you a Cthulhu Mythos fan?

Then you'll love this novella by Frank Schildiner featuring Henry Kuttner's pulp hero Thunder Jim Wade that has ties to the Mythos, among other works!

For more information, be sure to purchase 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 Cover: Centipede '63

 

The vigilante known as the Black Centipede and Captain Marla Bartowski, the daughter of his old friend Stan Bartowski, attempt to thwart the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Centipede’s foe Adrian Countenance is executed at Winnemac State Prison in Zenith. The town of Zenith, located in the fictional state of Winnemac, is from the works of Sinclair Lewis. The Centipede reaches out to ex-cop turned private eye Ace Harlem for info. Ace appeared in a story by John Terrell in the one-shot All-Negro Comics in July 1947. The Centipede and his allies Raoul and Marie Unknown discuss the Martian War of 1897. The Martians came to Earth in cylinders. Of course, this is a reference to H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. The Centipede receives a call from his ex-wife Anonymoushka, the precognitive daughter of Professor Moriarty. In the Black Centipede’s universe, Moriarty is really Sherrinford Holmes, Sherlock’s brother. He was bitten by Count Dracula, and as a result came back as a vampire after his death at Reichenbach Falls. He then killed Dracula and took his mantle as Lord of the Vampires. This is obviously incompatible with CU continuity and makes the Black Centipede books an AU. Marla contacts her friend, FBI agent Jill Trent. Jill Trent, Science Sleuth was the protagonist of a feature in Nedor Publishing’s titles Fighting Yank and Wonder Comics from 1943-1948. The Centipede calls his friend Gregor Samsa, the protagonist of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. He also says about a foe, “He was a criminal at heart, and as somebody once said, criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot.” “Somebody” is Batman. 

This crossover is one of over a thousand covered in my book Crossover 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 1967

SATANIC SPIES AND OTHER MUSICALS 

The chauffeur for a cadet branch of the Falsworth family tells his friend about occult investigator Johnny Rich and his own chauffeur, partner, and lover May when they spot them at Lords. May’s mother employs dacoits and has access to poisonous vipers. The duo meets with the controller of British Intelligence and his employee George. One of rock star Bobby Belial’s followers is Helena Gurney, niece of the Earl of Gurney. Belial plays at a club owned by Danny and Tony Driscoll. The Driscolls and Harold Shand each claim the title of London’s boss. May is of Manchu descent. Johnny is a duke, and his late father was a legendary magus. After thwarting Belial, Johnny goes with May to the musician’s home, where they meet a Special Branch officer named Mendel. 

Short story by Frank Schildiner, originally available as an e-book from Pro Se Productions in 2017; reprinted in Johnny Rich, Pro Se Productions, 2018. Johnny Rich is the son of Dennis Wheatley’s occult detective the Duke de Richleau. May is the daughter of Fah Lo Suee and the granddaughter of Dr. Fu Manchu. The Falsworth family includes Montgomery Falsworth and his son Brian, both of whom operated as the masked hero Union Jack, and Montgomery’s daughter and Brian’s sister Jacqueline, aka the speedster superheroine Spitfire. All three are members of the Marvel Comics wartime superhero team the Invaders. Although superteams are rarely included in the CU, it has been established that the Invaders did operate briefly as a commando-style team, notably encountering a member of the Frankenstein family and his monster. Furthermore, Paul Hugli’s “As Time Goes By...” suggests a version of Union Jack exists in the CU. The head of British intelligence is Control, George Smiley’s boss in John le Carré’s spy novels. Inspector Mendel is also from the Smiley books. The Earl of Gurney is from Peter Barnes’ play The Ruling Class and its film adaptation by Peter Medak. Danny and Tony Driscoll are from the television series Only Fools and Horses. By extension, the spin-off The Green Green Grass and the prequel Rock & Chips would also be in the CU. Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby from Fawlty Towers appeared in the Only Fools and Horses episode “Homesick.” Harold Shand is from the movie The Long Good Friday. 

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: Australis Incognito

 

Are you a Guy Boothby fan?

Then you'll love this novel by Brad Mengel, which features the villain of his book In Strange Company, among many other crossovers!

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

Crossover Cover: God's Games

 

Are you a Nero Wolfe fan?

Then you'll love Tommy Hancock's story in this anthology, which has a Wolfe connection, among other crossovers!

For more information, be sure to check out my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: Castle Dark

 

Adventuress Frances West battles the vampire Drakkar alongside her friend and sometime lover Maxim Gunn. Drakkar controls creatures called diablosaurs. At the end, Drakkar relocates to Arkham, Massachusetts. Maxim Gunn appears in his own series of novels by Boving, which has several connections to the CU. The diablosaurs, created by Maurice Renard’s character Dr. Lerne, first appeared in Boving’s “Wings of Fear” (Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 9: La Vie en Noir, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2012). At the end of that story, the last surviving diablosaur escaped. Perhaps the diablosaurs seen here were the result of someone’s attempt to recreate Lerne’s experiment, since otherwise it’s unlikely the surviving one would have been able to reproduce. Arkham, Massachusetts is a recurring setting in H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos tales. 

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: Diamondback: It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

 

Are you an Orson Welles fan?

Then you'll love this novel by Derrick Ferguson, which has a nod to Citizen Kane, as well as connections to many of Ferguson's other works!

For more information, be sure to pick up a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! 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 of the Week

Late December 2011 

DILLON AND THE PROPHECY OF FIRE 

Dillon brings his friends Wyatt Hyatt and Reynard Hansen and their new acquaintance Professor Ursula Van Houghton of Grand Lakes University to his home in Grand, Pennsylvania, which is filled with pictures by Ben Munceford, a photojournalist who disappeared in the 1960s. A group of villains seek the Vril energy from Dillon, who at one point wears a Gantlet Brothers T-shirt. Wyatt works on his Clip Pad. Dillon’s friend Eli Creed has been asked to consult on a new airplane design by friends at the Miami Aerospace Research & Dynamic Logistics. Germany’s Ministry of State Security has an extensive dossier on Dillon’s encounter with Sun Koh years ago. Another dossier on the subject was once in the hands of the Office of Scientific Intelligence. Dillon and friends are shown a laboratory right up there with any that can be found at Alternative Technologies or Hazzard Laboratories. At MARDL, Eli says goodbye to Clifton Storm, formerly known as Challenger Storm. Dillon met Master Gunnery Sergeant Morrell on a train ride from Harak to Khusra a few years ago. The mastermind behind the Vril plot is Li Shoon, the leader of the Ui Kwoon Ah-How. 

Story by Derrick Ferguson in Dillon Annual Collection 2019, Pro Se Productions, 2019. Grand Lakes University is from the movie Back to School. Dillon first met Ursula Van Houghton in “Dillon and the Night of the Krampus,” which takes place right before this story. Grand, Pennsylvania is from the television series Grand. Ben Munceford is from the movie The Bedford Incident. The Vril is from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s The Coming Race. The Gantlet Brothers are the protagonists of a series of novels by Joel Jenkins. The Clip Pad is from Jenkins’ Dire Planet; Jenkins and Ferguson’s The Specialists reveals the Pad was invented by Wyatt Hyatt. The Miami Aerodrome Research & Development Laboratories (to use its name in the 1930s) and their head, Clifton “Challenger” Storm, are seen in novels by Don Gates. Sun Koh is a German pulp hero sometimes dubbed “the Nazi Doc Savage”; Dillon encountered him and the Vril in Ferguson and Josh Reynolds’ The Vril Agenda. The Office of Scientific Intelligence is from the television series The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. The Henderson Institute of Alternative Technologies is from Ferguson’s serialized novel “A Man Called Mongrel,” appearing in the anthology series Mystery Men (& Women). Hazzard Laboratories is run by Captain Hazzard, a one-shot pulp hero created by “Chester Hawks” (Paul Chadwick). Khusra is from Ferguson’s Fortune McCall stories. The train ride was seen in Dillon and the Last Rail to Khusra. Li Shoon appeared in stories by H. Irving Hancock in Detective Story Magazine. 

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

Crossover Cover: Designs of the Blood Eagle

Semi-Dual and his aides Gordon Glace and Jim Bryce battle a villain called the Blood Eagle, who is using a Hyde formula to remove inhibitions. Semi’s ally Hiwot says Robert Louis Stevenson’s account of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was based in fact. At Semi’s request, Gordon and Jim enlist the aid of Professor Xenophon Xerxes Zapt. Semi has been corresponding with a young explorer named Croft, who will soon attempt to reach Sirius, having sensed his soulmate calling to him. Occult detective Semi-Dual (or Prince Abdul Omar, to use his real name) appeared in tales by J. U. Giesy and Junius B. Smith in The Cavalier and Argosy All-Story Weekly from 1912-1934. Professor Xenophon Xerxes Zapt was the subject of four comedic stories by Giesy in All-Story Magazine and Weird Tales from 1915-1925. Croft is Jason Croft, the protagonist of Giesy's novels Palos of the Dog Star Pack, The Mouthpiece of Zitu, and Jason, Son of Jason. Semi-Dual and Mr. Hyde are in the CU, so this novel brings in Professor Zapt and Jason Croft.

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

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 Cover: Young Dillon in the Halls of Shamballah

 

Twelve-year-old Dillon is taken into the hidden city of Shamballah after his mother’s death, with the Warmasters of Liguria desiring to train him in combat. One of Shamballah’s sentries says, “Who would be shooting out here? There's no game and the Migou haven’t been seen in this region for two years now. Some say they’re in hibernation mode. And there’s not been so much as a sign of the Tcho-Tcho for going on five years.” Mr. Waingro of the Reardon Square Gang swears by Arioch. The trees seem to whisper to Dillon, “Our youngest sapling was ancient when the foundations for the pyramids of Leng were built.” Dillon already has several solid connections to the CU. The Migou (or Mi-Go), the Tcho-Tcho, and Leng are all associated with the Cthulhu Mythos. Arioch is one of the Dukes of Hell in Michael Moorcock’s Elric series, once again proving the CU is part of Moorcock’s Multiverse.

This novel is one of hundreds of crossovers 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: Contact High (Verse-Chorus-Verse)

 

In this story by Joseph Lamere, the Lemon Herberts, a pop band who keep getting into adventures, disrupt a black magic rite by a rival band’s manager, Lester Wicked. Decades later, Wicked attempts to finish what he started. In 1967, the Lemon Herberts perform at the Catacombs underneath the Paris Opera House, which rumor has it a Phantom once haunted. In the twenty-first century, FBI agent Dell tells Dilly Button, the Herberts’ former rhythm guitar player, “This case just keeps getting weirder and weirder all the time. There used to be this guy at the Bureau, this guy named Fox, and...” Dilly says he met Fox once in the 1980s. The Phantom is Erik from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. Fox is Fox Mulder of The X-Files fame. Both these references bring the Lemon Herberts, created by Jim Beard, into the CU.

This crossover is one of hundreds covered 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 Cover: The Air Loom

 

The Pulptress battles the Air Loom Gang, who have been causing people to experience sudden madness in England, including her old teacher, Peter Knight. Helping her is Knight’s grandson Roger, a New Scotland Yard inspector. Knight is said to have fought “the ungodly” as early as the Roaring Twenties. Roger describes his grandfather as “the modern Robin Hood.” The Pulptress asks Roger, “Did your grandfather ever tell you about his really strange adventures? The story about the giant bugs or the one about Loch Ness?” At the end of the case, the elder Knight tells Emily and Roger, “The two of you did well...Although you realize, you owe it all to my teaching.” Emily responds, “As the actress said to the bishop.” The Pulptress is already in the CU through meetings with Derrick Ferguson’s character Dillon, Erwin K. Roberts’ hero the Voice, and Ron Fortier’s undead vigilante Brother Bones. “Peter Knight” is a thinly disguised version of Simon Templar, the Saint.
This crossover is one of hundreds covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, winging your way in the future from Meteor House! Much like the first two books, this one is an AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: Blood and Bone

The Pulptress has her final battle with the Bone Queen. The Pulptress first battled the Bone Queen in Judy’s story “The Bone Queen,” which is described here as having taken place nearly a year ago. I posted about that story and others in the anthology The Pulptress in 2014. (By the way, despite what I mistakenly wrote in that post, “Black Mask, Big City” is by Tommy Hancock, not Derrick Ferguson, though Derrick's character Dillon does make an appearance in it.) Judy elaborated upon the undead Bone Queen’s origins in a novel also entitled The Bone Queen.

Crossover Cover: Wanted: Señorita Scorpion

This anthology published by Pro Se Productions includes the story "Wanted: Señorita Scorpion" by my fellow New Wold Newton Meteoritics Society member Brad Mengel. Bounty hunter Bellem pays a call on Anse Hawkman at the advice of Waxahachie Smith. Hawkman wants Bellem to track down the outlaw Señorita Scorpion, who is said to shoot faster than Dusty Fog. Bellem dented his rifle pistol-whipping a man he was paid to track down by a banker in Yellowdog. Waxahachie Smith, Dusty Fog, and the town of Yellowdog are from the Floating Outfit novels by J. T. Edson, which are already firmly in the CU. Therefore, this crossover brings in Les Savage, Jr.’s Señorita Scorpion, who appeared in eight stories in the pulp magazine Action Stories from 1944 to 1949.

Crossover Cover: The New Adventures of the Eagle

This anthology of new stories featuring Norman Daniels' pulp hero Jeff Shannon, aka the Eagle, has two stories with crossovers. In Bobby Nash's "Lights! Camera! Sabotage!," Agent Palmer of the FBI assigns Shannon to go undercover on the set of a film directed by a suspected saboteur. Agent Palmer also appears in Nash’s comic book Lance Star: Sky Ranger – One-Shot! (illustrated by James Burns) and the upcoming novel Lance Star: Sky Ranger – Cold Snap. His grandson is FBI Agent Harold Palmer, the protagonist of Nash’s novel Evil Ways, as well as its forthcoming sequel Evil Intent. Both novels are part of a series of thrillers set in Sommersville, Georgia. Since Lance Star and the Eagle are both in the CU, so are the two Agent Palmers. In Teel James Glenn's "The Coming Storm," Secret Service agent Rex Bennett assigns Shannon to rescue a kidnapped scientist. Shannon has read a series of articles about German Bunds by “that Donovan guy at the Daily Star.” Shannon’s friend Lefty Kovaks tells the disguised hero that he looks like a regular man of bronze, to which Shannon responds that that name is taken. Shannon consulted with an old instructor of his in New York, Andrew Mayfair, a noted biochemist, to create an antidote to any truth serums or sedatives he may face. Rex Bennett is from the film serials G-Men vs. the Black Dragon and Secret Service in Darkest Africa. Donovan is Moxie Donovan, an original character created by Glenn who appears in the collections Deadline Zombies: The Adventures of Maxi and Moxie and Headline Ghouls: The Further Adventures of Maxi and Moxie. The man of bronze is Doc Savage, of course; Andrew Blodgett “Monk” Mayfair is one of Doc’s five assistants.