Crossover Cover: Wyllard's Weird

In this novel, set in 1881-1884, Mademoiselle Beauville, a female fashion designer, has “cherished one bitter and unappeasable hatred, and that was against Messrs. Spricht, Van Klopen, and the whole confraternity of men-milliners.” Later Beauville boasts about a client, “I made all her gowns, and I was proud that she could challenge comparison with actresses who squandered their thousands upon such impostors as Spricht and Van Klopen.” Hilda Heathcote “had read of gentlemanlike murderers—assassins of good bearing and polished manners—Eugene Aram, Count Fosco, and many more of the same school.” Rick Lai notes, “Van Klopen was the criminal fashion designer who was part of the Mascarot blackmail ring in Emile Gaboriau’s Lecoq series. Van Klopen was still at liberty in Gaboriau’s non-Lecoq mystery novels set in the early 1870s. Eugene Aram was a real-life murderer from the 18^th century. His life was fictionalized in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s novel Eugene Aram. Count Fosco is the villain of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Mentioning Fosco alongside Aram implies that both were historical criminals whose lives were fictionalized.”

Crossover Cover: War Cry

Harry Dresden and the White Council try to keep a shoggoth in suspended animation away from the Red Court of vampires.

Crossover of the Week

1942

THE CASE OF THE BLIND SOLDIER

            The Green Ghost (George Chance) investigates the bizarre murder of an army Corporal. Agent Jeff Shannon of G-2 is also looking into the crime. Chance’s aide Joe Harper seeks a lead at the Pink Rat. Commissioner Standish tells Chance that Dan Fowler and his boys are moving in to clean up corruption at Fort Dix.

            Story by Tom Johnson in Exciting Pulp Tales, Altus Press, 2011. The Green Ghost (aka simply the Ghost) appeared in the pulp magazine The Ghost Super-Detective (later retitled The Ghost Detective and then Green Ghost Detective), and was created by G.T. Fleming-Roberts. Jeff Shannon is better known as the Eagle, who appeared in stories by “Kerry McRoberts” (Norman A. Daniels) in Thrilling Spy Stories and Popular Detective. The Pink Rat is an underworld dive bar from the Shadow novels. FBI agent Dan Fowler was created by Major George Fielding Eliot, and appeared in the pulp G-Men Detective. The year is conjecture, though the story explicitly takes place during America’s involvement in World War II.