Crossover of the Week

Summer 1911

HOW THE PROFESSOR TAUGHT A LESSON TO THE GNOLES 

Professor Moriarty is hired by the thief Nuth to help him plunder the treasures of the creatures known as the gnoles. Nuth says thieves trace their lineage to Slith, and before him Prometheus, and that the history of thievery is as storied as that of any noble house in Ruritania or Celephais. He also asks Moriarty, “Shall I allow the foreigner Rocambole or the dissolute Raffles to wear the crown that is rightfully mine, then?” Moriarty has a tank which is based on the designs of “a certain Sikh of my acquaintance.” Moriarty says he will teach the gnoles the lessons of Troy, of Sarnath, and of Peking. 

Story by Josh Reynolds in The Adventures of Moriarty, Maxim Jakubowski, ed., Robinson, 2015. Nuth and the gnoles are from Lord Dunsany’s “How Nuth Would Have Practiced His Art Upon the Gnoles.” Slith, besides being mentioned in that story, appears in Dunsany’s “Probable Adventure of the Three Literary Men”; both stories are included in the collection The Book of Wonder. Ruritania is from Anthony Hope’s The Prisoner of Zenda. Celephais and Sarnath are from the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Rocambole is Ponson du Terrail’s adventurer. A. J. Raffles is E. W. Hornung’s gentleman thief. The Sikh is Captain Nemo. Rick Lai’s “The Secret History of Captain Nemo” and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen indicate Nemo would have no reason to do Moriarty any favors, so the Professor must have stolen his old foe’s technology. 

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 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

Summer 1888

THE CASE OF MRS. NORTON 

The former Irene Adler hires Erik’s Opera Ghost Agency (whose current operatives are Ayda Heidari, Ysabel de Ferre, and Hagar Stanley) to determine whether her husband Godfrey Norton is the good man he appears. Appearing or mentioned are the Persian; the Countess de Cagliostro; Liddle, Neal, & Liddle; the King of Bohemia; A. J. Raffles; Professor Moriarty; Sherlock Holmes; Trilby; Coppélius; Spallanzani; Olympia; Irma Vep; Les Vampires; La Marmoset; and Mr. Calhoun. 

Story by Kim Newman in Angels of Music, Titan Books, 2016. Erik and the Persian are from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. Irene Adler, her husband Godfrey Norton, and the King of Bohemia are from Doyle and Watson’s Sherlock Holmes tale “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Ayda Heidari is the future wife of Bob Ferguson from “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.” Professor Moriarty is Holmes’ greatest foe. Ysabel de Ferre is a foe of detective Sexton Blake. Hagar Stanley is from Fergus Hume’s Hagar of the Pawn-Shop. Josephine Balsamo, the Countess of Cagliostro, is the archenemy of Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman burglar Arsène Lupin. Liddle, Neal, & Liddle is from Arthur Morrison’s Martin Hewitt story “The Case of Laker, Absconded.” A. J. Raffles is E. W. Hornung’s amateur cracksman. Trilby O’Ferrall is from George du Maurier’s Trilby. Coppélius, Spallanzani, and Olympia are from Jacques Offenbach’s opera Tales of Hoffmann. Irma Vep and Les Vampires are from Louis Feuillade’s silent film serial named for the latter. La Marmoset and Mr. Calhoun are from Albert W. Aiken’s “La Marmoset, the Detective Queen; or, The Lost Heir of Morel.” 

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

Spring 1868-1876 
THY NAME IS SABBATH 
A failed murder sets in motion an eight-year-long series of events that leads to a bounty hunter adopting the alias of Major D. M. Sabbath. Appearing or mentioned are: Jimmy Ballantrae (aka Valentin L’Ollonaise); Bougival Junction; Otto Stejar; Colonel Heinrich Von Skimmel; the Black Indian (aka Christian Adam Sabbath); Red Galloway; the Crazy Indian; Isaiah; Brockston-Morton Railways; Arthur Gordon; Leroy Bailey; the Hellbender Regiment; Randall; Sheriff Priam Ramsey; Hatfield; Paolo di Marco and his nephew Gino; Philip “Hot Lead” Holden; Marty Heywood; Lieutenant Tervis; Colonel Jonas Leland; Giddy Burnett; Samson McDade; Jake Sartana (aka the Ace of Hearts); “that crazy Englishman who made a bet this year about traveling around the world in 80 days”; the Gentlemen of the Night; Fergus O’Breane; Jason McIntock; O’Breane’s successor in London; Redstone; Rocambole; William LeFrank Gordon, aka Bill Gordon and Frank Gordon; Baron Gustav Von Schulenberg; Enrique Claudin; the Chupin Detective Agency; Grandville Fuller; Lost Knob, Texas; Christian Adam Sabbath, Jr.; Arthur Gordon’s wife Xaviera; Skurlock; Mitchell Stangerson; Ignacz Djanko; the J. V. Harden Tobacco Company; Bryant’s Gap; Delilah L’Ollonaise; Madame Delphine; Hot Lead’s son; John Gordon; Snow Hill County; Judge Cutthroat; Bennet’s Raiders; Specs; Horst Drebber; the Council of Four; John Ferrier; Count Stanislaus Kowalski; Anton Niklas Petersen; San Miguel; the Drifter with Many Names; Chadwell; the Black Coats; Regina; Louie Gordon; Sgt. Boomerang Smith; Captain Younger; and Delta Valley, California. 
Story by Rick Lai in Rick Lai’s Major Sabbath, Ron Fortier, ed., Airship 27 Productions, 2016. Major D. M. Sabbath is a conflation of Colonel Douglas Mortimer from the movie For a Few Dollars More with the title character of the movies Sabata and Return of Sabata, both played by Lee Van Cleef. Jimmy Ballantrae is meant to be Ballantine from the movie Adiós, Sabata. Stejar and Colonel Skimmel are also from that film. The Black Indian is meant to be the title character of Adiós, Sabata, also known as Indio Black, and played by Yul Brynner. Bougival Junction is from the movie Frenchie King. Red Galloway is a combination of Lee Galloway, the actual protagonist of the inaccurately titled film Sartana in the Valley of Death, with Banjo from Sabata; William Berger played both roles. The Crazy Indian and Isaiah are El Indio and Prophet from For a Few Dollars More. Brockston-Morton Railways is a conflation of the Brockston railroad company from the movie The Big Gundown with the Morton railroad company from the film Once Upon a Time in the West. William LeFrank Gordon is a combination of William L. “Bill” Gordon from Robert E. Howard’s “The Dead Remember” with Frank from Once Upon a Time in the West. Baron Von Schulenberg is from The Big Gundown. Here, he is Colonel Skimmel’s cousin; both characters were played by Gérard Herter. Arthur Gordon is from Emile Gaboriau’s La Vie Infernale. The Chupin Detective Agency is also from Gaboriau’s works. Bailey is from the movie Hannie Caulder. Specs is another character from that film, Thomas Luther Price. The Hellbender Regiment and Colonel Jonas are from the movie The Hellbenders. Jonas’ surname of Leland implies a genealogical relationship to Jed Leland from Citizen Kane; Joseph Cotten played both characters. Randall is bounty hunter Josh Randall from the TV series Wanted: Dead or Alive. Sheriff Priam Ramsey is the father of the title character of the TV show Hec Ramsey. Samson McDade is Sam McDade from the Hec Ramsey episode “Scar Tissue.” Hatfield is from the movie Stagecoach. Paolo and Gino di Marco are from the Have Gun – Will Travel episode “The High Graders.” Delta Valley, California is where Paladin adopted his alias in the Have Gun – Will Travel episode “Genesis.” Philip “Hot Lead” Holden is meant to be “Hot Dead” Holden from the movie I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death. Sartana is a spaghetti western hero played by Gianni Garko, who also portrayed a virtually identical character called the Ace of Hearts in A Bullet for a Stranger. Grandville Fuller is from Light the Fuse...Sartana Is Coming. Marty Heywood is from the movie Wanted. Lieutenant Tervis is meant to be Clyde from Return of Sabata. Jason McIntock is related to Joe McIntock from the same film. In Return of Sabata, it is revealed Sabata left a woman at the altar in Redstone who later gave birth to his son; Delilah L’Ollonaise is meant to be that woman. Giddy Burnett (later Sheriff Gideon Burnett), Hot Lead’s son (Loco, played, like Hot Dead himself, by Klaus Kinski), John Gordon, Snow Hill County, Judge Cutthroat (Henry Pollicut), Regina, and Louie Gordon (Silence) are from the movie The Great Silence. “That crazy Englishman” is Phileas Fogg from Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. The Gentlemen of the Night are from Paul Féval’s novel of the same name, as is Fergus O’Breane. The Black Coats are featured in a series of novels by Féval. O’Breane’s successor in London is Professor Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes’ archenemy. Stangerson, Drebber, the Council of Four, and John Ferrier are from Doyle and Watson’s first Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet. The J. V. Harden Tobacco Company is based on a reference to a tobacco millionaire named John Vincent Harden in the Holmes tale “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist.” Rocambole is the protagonist of a series of novels by Ponson du Terrail. Enrique Claudin is really Erik, the title character of Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera, using an alias. Erique Claudin was the Phantom’s real name in the 1943 film adaptation of the novel. Lost Knob, Texas is from Robert E. Howard’s “Graveyard Rats,” “Old Garfield’s Heart,” and “Wild Water.” Christian Adam Sabbath, Jr. is meant to be Chris Adams from the Magnificent Seven film series; he was played variously by Yul Brynner (The Magnificent Seven and Return of the Magnificent Seven), George Kennedy (Guns of the Magnificent Seven), and Lee Van Cleef (The Magnificent Seven Ride!) The implication of Arthur Gordon’s marriage to Xaviera LeFrank, the stage name of actress Francine Xavier, is that he is the grandfather of Robert E. Howard’s adventurer Francis X. Gordon, aka El Borak. Skurlock, Texas is from Howard’s “Black Wind Blowing.” Ignacz Djanko is the title character of the movies Django and Django Strikes Again. Bryant’s Gap is where a group of Texas Rangers, including Dan Reid, were massacred by Butch Cavendish’s gang; the sole survivor, Dan’s brother John Reid, adopted the guise of the Lone Ranger. Madame Delphine is Delphine Yant from Louis L’Amour’s The Proving Trail. In that novel, it is said that the Yant family also uses the aliases of Cabanus and L’Ollonaise. Bennet’s Raiders are from the movie Face to Face. Count Stanislaus Kowalski is really A. J. Raffles’ foe Count Corbucci from E. W. Hornung’s “The Fate of Faustina” and “The Last Laugh,” while Anton Niklas Petersen is in fact Guy Boothby’s villain Dr. Antonio Nikola. The names Kowalski and Petersen evoke Yodlaf Peterson and Sergei Kowalski, Franco Nero’s characters in the movies Compañeros and The Mercenary, respectively. San Miguel is a Mexican border town seen in four Eurowesterns: El Rojo, A Fistful of Dollars; Run, Man, Run, the sequel to The Big Gundown; and A Bullet for the General. The Drifter with Many Names is the Man with No Name from Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy.” His aliases are based on the names used for the character in each film: Joe Limbo (Joe in A Fistful of Dollars); Lefty (Manco in For a Few Dollars More); and Rubio (Blondie in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). Major (formerly Captain) Chadwell, Sgt. Boomerang Smith (Sgt. Jeremiah Smith), and Captain (formerly Lt.) Cole Younger are from the movie Charge! (aka Those Dirty Dogs). 

This crossover is only one of hundreds covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which will be published by the fine folks at Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's books Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: Too Much Time

 

The time traveler Waverider views the future of the members of Justice League International’s European branch to determine whether one of them will become Monarch, the tyrant that rules over his native year of 2001. Said future involves a mishap sending them to various time periods, past and future, where they meet DC heroes of those eras. The armored Russian hero Rocket Red (Dmitri Pushkin) finds himself in Arthurian England, where he joins the Knights of the Round Table. Dmitri toasts one of his fellow knights, “To you, my friend! Is good Russian name, Ivan! But from where do you get this Chinese last name, ‘Ho’?” The Elongated Man winds up in 1895 London, where Professor Moriarty becomes entangled in his malleable body. Later, he attends a party, where an irate Sherlock Holmes accuses him of sheer luck in capturing his archenemy. With very rare exceptions, superhero teams such as Justice League Europe are not included in the Crossover Universe. Further cementing this story outside CU continuity is the fact it is part of a company-wide crossover event called Armageddon 2001. Lastly, Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe takes place during the reign of Richard the Lionheart, not King Arthur.

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 of the Week

Spring 2011
STILETTO 
Myfanwy Thomas must broker a merger between her group, the Chequy, a British organization that combats supernatural menaces, and their foes the Grafters, formerly known as the Broederschap. Appearing or mentioned are a student from the University of Ingolstadt who created a monster, Noble’s Island, Yalding Towers, Ryhope Wood, the Deptford Power Station, Kirrin Island, Podsnap’s Technique, a drunk individual muttering about a beekeeper and the dynamics of rocks in space, Walmington-on-Sea, and Brünnhilde Trant-Erskine-Brown. 
Novel by Daniel O’Malley, Little, Brown and Company, 2016. The University of Ingolstadt student is Victor Frankenstein. O’Malley’s account of Victor and his monster’s deaths is inconsistent with Shelley’s novel, not to mention the monster’s many later appearances in the CU, but with the passing of a couple of centuries, it’s not impossible some information got garbled. Noble’s Island is the titular setting of H. G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau. Yalding Towers is from Edith Nesbit’s The Enchanted Castle. Ryhope Wood is from the Mythago Wood series by Robert Holdstock. The Deptford Power Station is from the Deptford Mice series by Robin Jarvis. Kirrin Island is from the Famous Five novels by Enid Blyton. Podsnap’s Technique is from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, making that novel a possible future for the CU. The drunk individual muttering about a beekeeper and the dynamics of rocks in space is Professor Moriarty. Walmington-on-Sea is from the British sitcom Dad’s Army. Brünnhilde Trant-Erskine-Brown must be the third child of Claude Erskine-Brown and his wife, the former Phyllida Trant, both QCs themselves, from the TV series Rumpole of the Bailey. Claude is a Wagner fan, and his and Phyllida’s two children in the show are named Tristan and Isolde. 

This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3! Much like the first two volumes, it is an AUTHORIZED companion to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2 and will be published by Meteor House!

Crossover of the Week

October 1885

THE HOUND OF THE D’URBERVILLES

            Professor Moriarty and Colonel Moran are hired by Jasper Stoke-d‘Urberville, nephew of Simon Stoke-d’Urberville, to kill Red Shuck, the spectral hound that has allegedly haunted the d’Urberville family for generations. Appearing or mentioned are: the village of Trantridge; the Chase; Simon’s son Alexander; Theresa “Tess” Durbeyfield-Clare; Tess’ son Sorrow and siblings Abraham and Modesty; the city of Wintoncester; Selden; Desperado Dan’l; a terrifying Fat Man in Whitehall; Doctor Jack Quartz; Dr. Nikola; the Si-Fan; the Lord of Strange Deaths; the Grand Vampire; Les Vampires; Wessex; Diggory Venn; Parson Tringham; Car Darch; Sir Pagan d’Urberville; Melchester; Lord John Roxton; Casterbridge; the Ranee of Ranchipur; Blind Herder; Arnsworth Castle; Jim Lassiter; John Durbeyfield; the parish of Kingsbere; Sherton Abbas; Singapore Charlie; Marlott Churchyard; and Elizabeth-Louise Durbeyfield.

            Short story by Colonel Sebastian Moran, edited by Kim Newman in Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the d’Urbervilles, Titan Books, 2011. The village of Trantridge, Simon Stoke-d’Urberville, the Chase, Simon’s son Alexander, Theresa “Tess” Durbeyfield-Clare, Sorrow Durbeyfield, Abraham Durbeyfield, Modesty Durbeyfield, the city of Wintoncester, Parson Tringham, Car Darch, Sir Pagan d’Urberville, John Durbeyfield, the parish of Kingsbere, Marlott Churchyard, and Elizabeth-Louise (or Eliza-Louisa) Durbeyfield are from Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Diggory Venn is from Hardy’s novel The Return of the Native. Wessex is a fictional region of England that appears in most of Hardy’s novels. Melchester is from Hardy’s Two on a Tower and Jude the Obscure. Casterbridge is from Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge. Sherton Abbas is from Hardy’s The Woodlanders. Selden is from Doyle and Watson’s The Hound of the Baskervilles. The terrifying Fat Man in Whitehall is Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brother. Blind Herder is the blind mechanic Von Herder from the Holmes story “The Adventure of the Empty House.” “The Arnsworth Castle business” is an untold Holmes case mentioned in “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Desperado Dan’l is inspired by (though not the same person as) the British comic book cowboy Desperate Dan. Doctor Jack Quartz is the arch nemesis of dime novel detective Nick Carter. Dr. Nikola is from the series of novels by Guy Boothby. The Si-Fan and Singapore Charlie are from the Fu Manchu novels by Sax Rohmer; the Lord of Strange Deaths is Fu Manchu himself. Les Vampires are from the titular film serial directed by Louis Feuillade, as is their leader, the Grand Vampire. Lord John Roxton is from Doyle’s Professor Challenger stories. Ranchipur is from the film The Rains of Ranchipur. Jim Lassiter is from the novel Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey. The month is given, but the year is conjecture based on the facts Moran has worked for Moriarty for some time and Selden is next seen as an escaped convict in 1888.

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.