Crossovers: Bracelets, Demons and Death

Vampirella’s friend Cryssie Collins and special effects expert Harold Swillman find themselves in possession of the Hellbands created by Jedediah Pan, each of which can summon three demons. Swillman uses his Hellband to murder the guests at a gala party, and unintentionally causes Cryssie to be possessed by a demon herself. Jedediah Pan and the Hellbands are from “The Demons,” a strip by Bill DuBay and Jose Ortiz that appeared in five installments in the Warren magazine Eerie in 1976. The story continues in #93, but I haven't included that cover because it highlights a non-Vampirella story in that issue.

Crossover Covers: Ice Station Alpha

Besides the obvious team-up, a Hidalgo Trading Company warehouse in Gotham City appears in this story. Doc Savage must have at least three warehouses with that name: one in New York, one in Gotham, and the one in San Francisco seen in Win's story "Shadows Over Kunlun."

Upcoming Crossovers: Conan/Red Sonja

Dark Horse and Dynamite are collaborating on a crossover between Conan and Red Sonja. Of course, the duo teamed up many times when Marvel had the comic rights to them both, but it's cool to see a new one happening.

Crossover Cover: The Darkness/Darkchylde: Kingdom Pain

Jackie Estacado, wielder of the Darkness, finds himself in the nightmare world of Kingdom Pain, where he frees Ariel Darkchylde from her slumber. Together, they battle Darkchylde’s fellow coma patient Breathtaker. Their opponent is finally killed by Sara Pezzini, wielder of the Witchblade, who vaguely remembers Ariel from their previous encounter in a 2000 one-shot.

Crossover Cover: The Gryphon King

In this fantasy novel by Tom Deitz, the items donated to the University of Georgia's Rare Book Library by Professor Charles Bowman-Smith include Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant's Vampyricon and The Unknown That Terrifies. Since Manly Wade Wellman's occult detective Judge Pursuivant is in the CU, the events of this novel must take place there as well. Some of the characters from this book went on to appear in the later volumes of Deitz's David Sullivan series, bringing in those books as well.

Crossover of the Week

Early June-Early September 1882

THE ISSUE OF DR. JEKYLL

            Several English professors travel to Massachusetts, where they wind up examining a comet that landed on the Gardner farm. Appearing or mentioned are: Doctor George Edward Rutherford; Doctor Henry Jekyll; Mr. Banks; Mr. Darling;  Professor Henry Higgins; Doctor Moreau; Doctor Perry; Denton; Causton; Arkham; Evangeline West’s uncle; Miskatonic University; Witch’s Hollow; Bolton; Kingsport; Innsmouth; Derrie; Axel Lidenbrock; Ammi Pierce; Nahum Gardner and his wife Nabby; Chapman’s Brook; Professor Selwyn Cavor; Karel Colceag; Herbert West; and Gabriel Utterson.

            Short story by Pete Rawlik at the HorrorTalk website. Doctor George Edward Rutherford is meant to be Arthur Conan Doyle’s Professor Challenger; Farmer revealed that the Professor’s true last name was Rutherford in Tarzan Alive. Doctor Henry Jekyll and Gabriel Utterson are from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Mr. George Banks is from P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins books, while Mr. George Darling is from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Professor Henry Higgins is from George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion. Doctor Moreau is from H.G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau. Moreau’s first name is given as Jean-Paul in this story, whereas he is identified as Alphonse Moreau in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II and other sources. The Jean-Paul reference must be considered an error. Doctor Abner Perry is from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Pellucidar novels. Denton is the English town where R.D. Wingfield’s Jack Frost novels and the television series A Touch of Frost take place. The English town of Causton is the setting of the Chief Inspector Barnaby novels by Caroline Graham, as well as the television series Midsomer Murders. Arkham and Miskatonic University are staples of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Evangeline West’s uncle is James West from the television series The Wild Wild West. Witch’s Hollow is from the story of the same name by August Derleth. Bolton and Herbert West are from Lovecraft’s “Herbert West—Reanimator.” Kingsport is from Lovecraft’s “The Festival.” Innsmouth is from another Lovecraft story, “The Shadow over Innsmouth.” The town of Derry (spelled “Derrie” here), Maine appears in many of Stephen King’s novels and short stories. Axel Lidenbrock is from Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. Ammi Pierce, Nahum and Nabby Gardner, and Chapman’s Brook are from Lovecraft’s “The Colour Out of Space.” Professor Cavor is from Wells’ The First Men in the Moon; his first name was given as Selwyn in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume I. Karel Colceag’s name is a nod to Carl Kolchak, although the two are not meant to be the same character.

Crossover Cover: Steed and Mrs. Peel: We're Needed #2

A while back, I posted about a potential crossover with The Prisoner in this storyline. Unfortunately, the seaside town of Silver Sands is clearly not the Village, although it is a community for retired spies. Unlike the Village, Silver Sand's inhabitants choose to stay there, and are not barred from leaving. We can assume that Silver Sands was set up for agents who were considered less risky to have at liberty than Number 6 and the others in the Village. However, there is a reference to two fictional locations. Mrs. Peel drives past a sign that reads "St. Mary Mead, 25 Miles; Walmington-on-Sea, 50 Miles; Silver Sand, 10 Miles." St. Mary Mead is the home of Miss Marple, while Walmington-on-Sea is the setting of the British sitcom Dad's Army, which is set during World War II.

Crossover Cover: Red, White and Blood

The third, and to date final, Nathaniel Cade novel. In this one, Cade and Zach attempt to prevent the parasitic creature known as the Boogeyman from murdering the president. Among the items in Cade’s trophy room are the leg of a cockroach roughly the same size as a human arm, hung on the wall with a plaque reading Operative Samsa, W. Berlin, 1948; a gallon jar filled with formaldehyde holding an insect claw labeled Delambre Remains, 1958; and the dried-out husk of a six-foot-tall praying mantis marked Judas Breed, Adult Stage, New York, 1997. The cockroach arm comes from Gregor Samsa, the protagonist of Franz Kafka's story "The Metamorphosis." The Delambre remains are a reference to the 1958 film The Fly, based on George Langelaan's short story of the same name. The Judas Breed is from Guillermo del Toro's 1997 film Mimic, which was very loosely based on Donald A. Wollheim's story. Tim Lebbon's Hellboy novel Unnatural Selection implied that Hellboy was involved in the events of Mimic. Perhaps he and Cade worked together to resolve the situation. The Whateley farm appears in a flashback, which also mentions Aleister Crowley’s conjuring of a moonchild, the bloody proof of which is all over Whitechapel. The Whateley farm is from Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror," while the moonchild is a reference to Aleister Crowley's novel of the same name. One of the characters in The Moonchild, Simon Iff, also appears in a series of detective stories by Crowley. The Whitechapel reference implies that this moonchild is Jack the Ripper. Since the origins of the Redjac entity have never been explained, this take on the Ripper could be considered valid for the CU.  Among the places where the Boogeyman is reported or confirmed to have been encountered are Fairvale, CA; Camp Crystal Lake, NJ; and Springwood, IL. Fairvale is from Robert Bloch's novel Psycho and Alfred Hitchcock's film adaptation. Camp Crystal Lake is from the Friday the 13th film series. Springwood is from the A Nightmare on Elm Street films. The implication is that the Boogeyman influenced Norman Bates, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger, at least in their initial killings.