Crossover Covers: Death's Dark Riders

Crossover Covers: Arsène Lupin vs. Sherlock Holmes

Crossover Covers: Domino Lady/Sherlock Holmes

Crossover of the Week

March 6, 1910-August 27, 1911

PROFESSOR PEASLEE PLAYS PARIS

            In 1910, a group of men led by Count Ferenczy and Professor Peaslee uncover a meteor in the Tunguska region of Siberia. Peaslee claims that because of Ferenczy’s failure in 1795, they must struggle with men with remarkable skills, and says that this meteor must not create another Holmes or Nemo. The following year, Peaslee requests the criminal Flambeau’s aid in deceiving the criminal organization known as the Habits Noirs. Inspector Romaine visits the Louvre, from which the Mona Lisa has been stolen, and reflects that Chief Aristide Valentin has committed suicide. The best and brightest of the police, including Broquet, Guichard, and Maigret, are attempting to deal with the massive crime-wave in Paris. Romaine meets with a man in an iron mask and his female aide, Joséphine. Peaslee asks a young girl named Nardi, recommended to him by Flambeau, to steal a stone. Peaslee compares that stone, the Tear of Azathoth, to the Heart of the Ocean, the Pink Panther, and the Maltese Falcon. Baron Cesare Stromboli, an agent of the Black Coats, tries unsuccessfully to purchase the Mona Lisa from the man who stole it. The current leader of the Habits Noirs, the Iron King, is furious when he learns of the thief’s refusal. Exploring Paris’s sewers, Nardi is caught by a group of men, one of whom remarks “Rats are getting bigger it seems. Regular Sumatra down here.” The Colonel, previously believed dead, reclaims the mantle of leader from the Iron King.

            Short story by Pete Rawlik in Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 9: La Vie en Noir, Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Black Coat Press, 2012; reprinted in French in Les Compagnons de l’Ombre (Tome 12), Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, eds., Rivière Blanche, 2013. Count Ferenczy is from H.P. Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, while Professor Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee is from Lovecraft’s “The Shadow Out of Time.” The Tunguska meteor strike was a real event that occurred in 1908, and has been linked to many curious events in the CU. The 1795 reference is to the Wold Newton meteor strike. According to Philip José Farmer, Sherlock Holmes is a member of the Wold Newton Family. In The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, Farmer claimed that Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo was actually Holmes’ foe Professor James Moriarty. Later research has established that Moriarty was indeed one of at least three men who used the name Nemo, though he was not the same person as Prince Dakkar, who used that alias in Verne’s novels. The Nemo referred to by Peaslee is likely Moriarty, who was identified as a member of the Wold Newton Family in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Flambeau and Aristide Valentin are from G.K. Chesterton’s stories about crime-solving priest Father Brown. Les Habits Noirs, aka the Black Coats, are featured in novels by Paul Féval, as is their leader, Colonel Bozzo-Corona. Inspector Romaine is from the film Charlie Chan in City in Darkness, while Nardi is from Charlie Chan in Paris. Rawlik’s story reveals that Nardi is Flambeau’s niece. Paulin Broquet is the policeman nemesis of the gypsy crime lord Zigomar in pulp novels by Léon Sazie. Commissaire Jules Maigret is featured in mystery novels by Georges Simenon. Chief Xavier Guichard was a real person who also appeared in the Maigret books. The Iron King is from Les Martin’s novel Young Indiana Jones and the Gypsy Revenge; he is a descendant of the title character of Alexandre Dumas’ The Man in the Iron Mask. Joséphine Balsamo is Arsène Lupin’s greatest foe. Azathoth, “the blind idiot god,” is one of the Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos. The Heart of the Ocean diamond is from the film Titanic. The Pink Panther gem is featured in the film of the same name. The statue known as the Maltese Falcon is from the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. Baron Cesare Stromboli is a gentleman thief appearing in stories by Jose Moselli. In the Sherlock Holmes story “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire,” Holmes mentions “the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared.” The tale of the giant rat is perhaps the most pastiched of the many unchronicled Holmes cases alluded to in the Canon.

Tarzan/Mandrake Crossover

I will definitely be including this story in the new books. International crossovers are always cool, even ones that violate copyrights like this one probably does. ;)

Crossover Covers: The Scarlet Jaguar

This excellent novella by Win serves as a sequel to his and Farmer's equally great novel The Evil in Pemberley House. Both tomes feature Patricia "Pat" Wildman, the daughter of a certain bronze-skinned pulp hero. As is often the case with Win, there are plenty of crossovers, and therefore I've written it up for Volume 4. Win is the perfect person to carry on Pat's adventures.

Crossover Covers: Batman and the Shadow

Sherlock Holmes in The Case of the Missing Martian

Crossover Covers: Ghost Pirates from the Beyond

In this issue of Marvel Comics' black and white Doc Savage comic magazine (in my opinion, one of the best translations of Doc to comics form), Doc and the Amazing Five investigate the death of a friend of his, a quest that leads them to Casablanca, where they wind up meeting a potential ally at an establishment called the Blue Parrot. In the classic film Casablanca, the Blue Parrot was the bar owned by Signor Ferrari. Therefore, this story will be listed in Volume 3.

Crossover Cover: Tales of the Shadowmen: The Modern Babylon

Crossover of the Week

Early March 1943

THE LEAGUE OF DEAD PATRIOTS

            FBI agent Dan Fowler tries to apprehend gangster William “The Bill” Kennedy, but is forced off the road by the Domino Lady. When Dan complains about vigilantes interfering with the Bureau’s affairs, his fellow agent Larry Kendal opines that with many of America’s able-bodied men at war, they can use all the help they can get. Fowler says that they’re getting it, from Jim Anthony, the Ghost Squad, and Secret Agent X, all of whom operate with government sanction. However, he argues that “clowns” such as the Shadow, Brother Bones and the Domino Lady are interfering loose cannons. After questioning Kennedy’s henchman Joe McGoohan, Fowler heads to the Tule Lake internment camp. There, he meets Norman Takei and his young son George. Fowler eventually discovers that the Domino Lady and McGoohan are allied against Kennedy. When Fowler asks McGoohan why he is involved in this case, “McGoohan” says the answer is right in front of him. Fowler sees an X etched in the mud, and says that he should have known.

            Story by Andrew Salmon in Dan Fowler: G-Man Volume One, Ron Fortier, ed., Cornerstone Book Publishers, 2009. Dan Fowler was created by Major George Fielding-Eliot and appeared in 112 issues of the pulp magazine G-Men Detective. The Domino Lady was created by an unidentified author using the nom de plume Lars Anderson and appeared in five issues of Saucy Romantic Adventures and one issue of Mystery Adventure Magazine. Jim Anthony appeared in the magazine Super Detective; his exploits were chronicled by Victor Rousseau Emanuel, Robert Leslie Bellem, and W.T. Ballard. The Ghost Squad were co-created by Salmon and Ron Fortier, and have starred in one novel to date, which featured a guest appearance by Fowler. Brother Bones is another hero created by Fortier. Secret Agent X starred in his own self-titled pulp magazine; he was created by Paul Chadwick and his exploits were continued by several others, all of whom used the pen name “Brant House.” In this story, the master of disguise is using the alias Joe McGoohan. The Shadow needs no introduction. George Takei would grow up to portray helmsman Hikaru Sulu on the television series Star Trek; for an explanation of how the future events depicted in the Star Trek franchise and the franchise itself can coexist in the CU, see J.R. Rasmussen’s story “Research.”

Crossover Covers: The X-Files/30 Days of Night

Crossover Cover: The Rocketeer Cargo of Doom

In this continuation of Dave Stevens' character, Cliff Secord does battle with a criminal known as the Master (who is referred to at one point as "John Sunli---," before the character speaking is interrupted), who is utilizing dinosaurs from a distant island (whose name starts with the word "Skull") for his nefarious schemes. Stevens is a tough act to follow, but Waid and Samnee did a pretty impressive job with this series.

Crossover Cover: Sails on the Horizon

In this naval tale by Jay Worrall, Charles Edgemont, commander of the Louisa, briefly meets Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower. Their encounter takes place in December 1797, during Hornblower's captivity in Ferrol documented in the last chapter of C.S. Forester's Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. Edgemont reappeared in Any Approaching Enemy (in which he briefly encounters Patrick O'Brian's own naval hero Lucky Jack Aubrey) and A Sea Unto Itself. I haven't read the sequels yet, but I will at least read Any Approaching Enemy so I can include it as well.

Crossover Covers: Tarzan/John Carter: Warlords of Mars

This miniseries is one of a few crossovers in literature and comics between Edgar Rice Burroughs' two most famous creations. Most recently, last Sunday, the Tarzan comic strip identified John Carter as a distant relative of Tarzan's wife Jane, which fits in rather well with Farmer's identification of her mother as the former Jane Carter Lee.

Crossover Covers: The Merkabah Rider series by Edward M. Erdelac

Edward M. Erdelac is the author of an excellent series of four books (three collections and a novel) about the Merkabah Rider, a Jewish mystic gunslinger battling the Great Old Ones in the Old West. Besides the strong ties to the Cthulhu Mythos, a number of other works of fiction are referenced, and therefore I will be including this series in the new volumes. Highly recommended.

Crossover Covers: Sherlock Holmes: The Crossovers Casebook

Sorry I'm posting this so late in the evening. Computer troubles. The focus of this excellent anthology (which includes Win's story "The Adventure of the Fallen Stone") is encounters between Holmes and at least one historical or preexisting fictional character. I've already written up all of the latter stories.

Crossover of the Week

Spring 1965

THE SNOW SCULPTURES OF XANADU

            Charles Foster Kane Jr. invites Orson Welles to his father’s decaying estate, Xanadu. In 1949, there were reports that an American black marketeer found dead in the Vienna sewers was Kane Sr.’s illegitimate son. Welles meets Dr. John Montague, whose published account of his investigation into the notoriously haunted Hill House in Connecticut Welles has read. In parapsychology texts, Xanadu has replaced Borley Rectory, the Loren Home, the Frieburg Tanz Akademie, the Overlook Hotel, and the Belasco Mansion as the world’s most haunted house.

            Short story by Kim Newman in Interzone #51, David Pringle and Lee Montgomerie, eds., September 1991; reprinted in Best New Horror 3, Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell, eds., Carroll & Graf, 1992, and Famous Monsters, Pocket Books, 1995. Charles Foster Kane is from Welles’ film Citizen Kane. The American black marketeer is Harry Lime from Carol Reed’s 1949 film The Third Man. Both Kane and Lime were played by Welles himself. Dr. John Montague and Hill House are from Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House. Borley Rectory is a real Victorian mansion that has been dubbed the most haunted house in the world. The Loren Home is from William Castle’s film House on Haunted Hill. The Frieburg Tanz Akademie is from Dario Argento’s film Suspiria. The Overlook Hotel is from Stephen King’s book The Shining. The Belasco Mansion is from Richard Matheson’s novel Hell House.

Crossover Covers: Doc Savage Meets the Marvel Heroes

Crossover Covers: Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Cat-Woman

Crossover Cover: Sherlock Holmes vs. Fantômas

Crossover Cover: The Doomsday Book

In this story, Batman and Robin, the Elongated Man, and Slam Bradley travel to England to prevent the assassination of Queen Elizabeth by Edgar Moriarty, who is replicating a plot hatched by his great-granduncle against Queen Victoria that was thwarted by Sherlock Holmes. The elderly but still spry Sherlock Holmes appears at the end of the story to lend a hand. Edgar's cousin Thomas Moriarty and his fiance, Mary Watson (great-granddaughter of the good Doctor) also play a prominent role. Per this story's listing in Vol. 2, this Batman is Bruce Wayne Jr., the son of the original Caped Crusader and the third to hold the mantle. Win doesn't specify who the Robin in this story is, but since Jason Todd was the Robin of this era in the comics and for most of the '80s, perhaps that's true in the CU as well. Win theorized that Edgar and Thomas Moriarty were the grandsons of Dominick Medina from John Buchan's The Three Hostages, whom Rick Lai identified as the Professor's nephew in his essay "The Secret History of Captain Nemo." Win further speculated that Mary Watson is the granddaughter of Dr. Watson and Nylepthah's unnamed son who appears as an infant in Farmer's The Adventure of the Peerless Peer. Also included in this entertaining story is an account of how Holmes thwarted the Professor's scheme a century before, illustrated by E.R. Cruz, who also drew a one-issue Sherlock Holmes comic for DC in 1975.

Crossover Cover: The Rainbow Affair

In this wonderful tie-in novel for the classic spy show The Man from U.N.C.L.E., David McDaniel has Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin meet Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Father Brown, John Steed and Emma Peel, Fu Manchu and Nayland Smith, the Saint and his nemesis Inspector Teal, John Creasey's Inspector Roger West, and Manning Coles' Tommy Hambledon, most of whom are unnamed, though Holmes appears under the alias of William Escott. There also references to James Bond, Neddy Seagoon from the British radio program The Goon Show, and John Creasey's Richard Rollison (aka the Toff) and Department Z.

Crossover Cover: Ten Years Beyond Baker Street

In this excellent authorized novel by Cay Van Ash, a close friend of Sax Rohmer's, Dr. Petrie enlists the aid of the retired Sherlock Holmes to rescue Nayland Smith from Fu Manchu's clutches. Holmes, Nayland Smith, and Fu Manchu were all identified as Wold Newton Family members by Farmer. In fact, Farmer proposed that Smith's mother was Sigrina Holmes, Sherlock's sister. Win postulated in his essay "Who's Going to Take Over the World When I'm Gone?: A Look at the Genealogies of Wold Newton Family Super-Villains and Their Nemeses" that the reason Petrie (who narrates the novel) omitted any mention of Smith's relationship to Holmes from his account is because Holmes helped bring Smith's paternal grandfather, Culverton Smith, to justice for the murder of his nephew, Victor Savage (as recounted by Watson in "The Adventure of the Dying Detective," edited by Conan Doyle.) Van Ash captures Rohmer's (and Petrie's) voice extremely well, and is very faithful to both the Holmes and Fu Manchu canons.