Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
This will be an incomplete post. The Shadow has roots in radio, and so like the Green Hornet and Lone Ranger, the Shadow has a place here in the TVCU. But the Shadow's stronger roots are in pulp, and there's another pair of crossoverologists that cover the Shadow in great detail, and I don't want to duplicate their efforts. So I'm only going to cover the Shadow's crossovers that involve television, film, radio, or video games.
On the real people seeming to be fictional in the same reality, James has posted: I don't have so much of a problem with the comic books existing in the same world. We have the same bizarre issue in the TVCU--look at The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, or other novels where comics featuring already crossed heroes exist within the same universe as the heroes themselves. I don't have a problem with it, mostly because the pulp heroes were aware of their magazines: Doc Savage made some negitive comics about Lester Dent, The Shadow novels were all based on his files (and Walter Gibson was a trusted agent--see The Sting of the Green Hornet and The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril), and a retired G-8 would answer his own letters page. If this level of metatextuality didn't affect the pulp heroes, I don't think it really affects the costumed adventuers.
Winter 1892--DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE/MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES MAGAZINE # 1--"The Life Story of King Kong"--Birth of Bruce Hagin Rassendyll, brother of Kent Allard (THE SHADOW) and half-brother of Richard Wentworth (THE SPIDER). His father is Ralph Rassendyll, cousin of Rudolph Rassendll (THE PRISONER OF ZENDA). Bruce will later go by the alias Jim "Red" Albright, and will have a heroic career first as G-8 then later as Captain Midnight. Bruce will also be the uncle of Cordwainer Bird.
Dick Tracy is the titular detective from the DICK TRACY comic strip started in 1931 (the 2-way wrist radio would not be introduced until 1946). The unnamed inventor residing in the Empire State Building is Doctor Clark Savage, Jr. from DOC SAVAGE MAGAZINE #1 (1933). The All-American Squadron is an homage to the All-Star Squadron (DC Comics) and All-Winners Squad (Marvel Comics) as well as other World War II era super groups and the comicbook company All-American Publications. George Maxon was the original Red Skull from CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1 (1941). The Cosmic Cube first appeared in TALES OF SUSPENSE #79 in 1966. The LeMarchand Box and the Hell Priest (Pinhead the Cenobite) are from Clive Barker's story "The Hellbound Heart" (1986).
Ivan continues on to New York City to the Empire State Building, but instead of the inventor he meets Clifford, a man who really is in the All-American Squadron and knows Ivan is a fraud. They briefly scuffle when Clifford believes Ivan's Tillinghast generator to be a duplicated rocket pack, but the sudden appearance of a mystic villain calling himself the Emperor unites them gainst the
alien warlord. Two Hawks arrive to detain the despot. Hearing Ivan's story, Cliff introduces him to Mr. Jonas, who determines that Ivan's tale of time travel is true.
Clifford is Cliff Secord, a.k.a. the Rocketeer, who first appeared in STARSLAYER #1, 1982. Jonas is an alias of the Shadow, who first appeared on DETECTIVE STORY HOUR radio serial in 1930. The Emperor is a known identity of Ming the Merciless, from the FLASH GORDON comic strips (1934). The Hawkmen also originated in that comic strip, though here they are conflated with Hawkman and Hawkgirl from FLASH COMICS #1 (1940).
Jonas promises to do what he can, but suggests that in the meantime, Ivan should try his best to blend in. Knowing his family is from Massachusetts, Ivan moves to Arkham MA and poses as his lost great uncle Raclaw, who was last seen in the states in 1919. As Raclaw, Ivan claims he is a scientist and gets hired at Arkham Sanitarium. Though his knowledge from their future gives him the appearance of scholarship, he lacks genuine scientific discipline and he is called upon to teach at Miskatonic University much more often than he is allowed to work with patients at the asylum. Ivan's mention of reanimation experiments conjures memories of Herbert West and the evils associated with his name, and Raclaw soon loses the respect of the Professors at MU, leaving him to function as a medical assistant, though he does gain a reputation as someone willing to assist with questionable research, as he had hoped. He finally gains some acceptance when dealing with a young patient believed to be possessed. In fact, she was possessed, but Ivan offered himself to the demon, Pazuzu, in exchange for the child, and as it discovered Ivan cannot be possessed by spirits (a side-effect of the Anti-Logic), Ivan discovered that keeping his Ghostbusting equipment at work was a good idea after all. The demon is driven away and Raclaw" is hailed as a hero of parapsychology.
Jonas is an alias of the Shadow, who first appeared on DETECTIVE STORY HOUR radio serial in 1930. Arkham, Arkham Sanitarium, Miskatonic University, and Herbert West are from the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H. P. Lovecraft. Pazuzu is from Assyro-Babylonian mythology, but is used here in the form fictionalized in such sources as the 1971 novel and film THE EXORCIST and the 2014-2015 television series CONSTANTINE. Raclaw Schablotski is original to Kevin Heim, but his disappearance in 1919 is documented in the 2016 novel REANIMATRIX by Peter Rawlik.
Ivan's success with the possessed patient gets him assigned to other patients with somewhat more esoteric ailments than normal. He is introduced to a 'permanent' resident patient called Laughing Jack, who almost never eats, except meat, and he prefers his as raw as possible. Jack is delighted by Ivan, whom he calls a "Nowhere Man", and claims they have a lot in common. Eventually Ivan gets Jack to admit that his name is Schadenfreude, but when Ivan reveals that the word is German for "taking pleasure from others' misery", Jack sighs and tells Ivan to pick one instead; maybe Jasper suits him today. Eventually Ivan's 'doctor / patient' relationship with Jack earns him a visit from a masked man called the Bat, who insists that Jack is too dangerous for anyone to get close to. Ivan seeks to rattle Jack by commenting to him about the visit, and Jack merely scoffs, claiming that he remembers when the Bat's father wore the suit, and wore it better at that. Finally Ivan runs some tests and discovers Jack, despite having healthy vital signs, is clinically dead, and likely has been dead for at least three decades, possibly five, and may be some kind of ghoul / lich creature... but clearly is unaware of his status among the living-impaired.
Batman made his debut inDETECTIVE COMICS #27 in 1939. This version of Batman is inspired byJSA: THE LIBERTY FILE (2000) and other Elseworld tales. Laughing Jack is based on many versions of the Joker, who first appeared in BATMAN#1 (1940) as well as THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928), which inspired the comic book villain. The name Jack Schadenfreude was applied to a Joker-like character in BATMAN / HOUDINI: THE DEVIL'S WORKSHOP (1993) while a "Wicked Looking Jasper" is hinted to be a Joker counterpart in BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT (1989).
Clifford invites Ivan to visit New York so he can meet with Strategic Scientific Reserve agent Carter. Carter is fascinated to meet a Future Man but determines that learning about upcoming threats to America from him could cause more harm than good. She mentions that the Bat did not feel Ivan was suitable for serving in the All-American Squadron, but he may be called upon to help with local crises, in exchange for the government making a priority of developing safe passage for him back to the future. While in New York, Ivan meets some soldiers preparing to return to Europe. They tell him that All-Americans like Colonel Courage & Bugle Boy, Captain Powderkeg, the Accelerator, and Princess Paradise have met the Russians in Austria and speculate on how they might react to Octobriana, should they meet during the concerted Allied front against Germany before the end of Summer. Ivan ponders the timing, as he's sure Germany shouldn't be defeated in 1942.
Agent Peggy Carter is a Marvel Comics character who first appeared in TALES OF SUSPENSE #77 (1966), though this version of the character draws mostly from the Marvel Cinematic Universe take, which debuted in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011). Colonel Courage & Bugle Boy, Captain Powderkeg, the Accelerator, and Princess Paradise are homage characters standing in for Captain America & Bucky, Captain Marvel, the Flash, and Wonder Woman. Octobriana is fromOCTOBRIANA AND THE RUSSIAN UNDERGROUNDby Petr Sadecký (1971).
As Raclaw, Ivan publically defeats a demon at the Arkham Train Depot using his Tillinghast Generator, creating a bit of a sensation. Several people start trying to build their own 'spirit box' devices. Ultimately Ivan accidentally founds a Ghostbusters franchise in 1942, though he is careful not to use that name; he refers to them as Ghost Breakers and his many recruits, most of whom are Miskatonic University students, set up their headquarters on campus. Alarmed that he might draw the attention of the real Raclaw Schablotski's still-living relatives in Massachusetts, Ivan insists on making engineering professor Basil Dinkley the public head of the "Ghost Breakers Club". After they've been active for about a month, the group is contacted by Larry Lawrence who claims to represent the 'official' Ghost Breakers and threatens to sue, prompting Ivan and Raymond to rename their group "The Real Ghost Breakers".
Tillinghast Generator and Miskatonic University are elements of Lovecraft's Mythos Cycle of stories, specifically FROM BEYOND(1920) and HERBERT WEST-REANIMATOR(1922). Basil Dinkley is related to Velma Dinkley from SCOOBY DOO, WHERE ARE YOU (1969) and other cartoons, though he cannot be the same Dr. Basil Von Dinkenstein Velma claims was her great great uncle in SCOOBY DOO! FRANKENCREEPY (2014) as that Basil was said to be the monster maker who inspired Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN novel in the 1800s. Larry Lawrence is from the 1940 filmGHOST BREAKERS, an adaptation of an earlier play The Ghost Breaker (1909). The Real Ghost Breakers is a play on the animated Ghostbusters cartoon titled THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS due to an already existing Ghostbusters television property. Ghostbusters, of course, reflects both the Filmation GHOST BUSTERS property and the Sony GHOSTBUSTERSproperty.
Schablotski's patient "Laughing" Jack escapes Arkham Sanitarium with the help of a scandalously-clad anarchist calling herself The Mad Bombshell. Ivan tries to track them down in the Ghost Wagon, an old fire truck donated to the Ghost Breakers, but finds Bombshell already captured by Colonel Courage and Maiden America, home from the war effort in Europe. Ivan greets them and wishes them well against Parsifal, which leads to his explaining that Parseval is a vampire in the employ of the Third Reich (information Ivan gained during his time with the Ordnance in the 1990s). Ivan does not find Jack; his appearance and personality have changed so much in just a few days, Ivan does not recognize him when he does happen to locate him. Ivan wishes he had disposed of the undead fiend when he had it in captivity, but since Jack, whatever kind of undead he is, has a heartbeat (or else something that simulates one), it would be be difficult to eliminate the undead creature without being accused of murder.
Laughing Jack and the Mad Bombshell are versions of the Joker and Harley Quinn, characters from the Batman comic books of DC Comics. Colonel Courage and Maiden America represent Captain America and Miss America from comic books published by Timely (Marvel) Comics. Arkham Asylum is from the stories of H P Lovecraft but was appropriated for use in DC Comics as a place for Batman's criminally insane foes to be locked up. Parsifal is a character from the DC Comics Elseworld series THE GOLDEN AGE (1993) who was reportedly killed by the Americommando, a DC character similar in design to Captain America.
Growing frustrated with life in 1942, Ivan seeks out a sorcerer he believes was active in that year, according to records from 2015. Doctor Mystic is indeed around, but he immediately senses Ivan's link to the Anti-Logic, which represents powerful Chaos magick. Mystic has to attempt a removal of this influence on Ivan before his own Order-based spells can have any hope of sending him home, but the effort releases a powerful spirit from the Sidhe which Ivan and Mystic then have to defeat. Mystic realizes Ivan cannot have Anti-Logic removed until a point in time after it was already bonded to him, as the Anti-Logic represents forces that are currently active in 1942. Mystic suggests that using the same method of time travel that originally brought him here is likely the only way to get back to the future.
Doctor Mystic is a stand-in for Doctor Fate (MORE FUN COMICS #55, 1940) and other magical heroes from the Golden Age. Anti-Logic is a fraction of the Anti-Life Equation, which originally appeared in Jack Kirby's Fourth World stories at DC Comics.
As America pulls out of Europe, more forces are dedicated to the Pacific Front. As part of the shift, Princess Mina Thatch, ambassador from the undersea domed civilization of Atlantis, visits Boston to discuss further involvement of her people in the war. Her brother Kenzo, eldest son of Queen Kida and her consort Milo, has already sworn to continue aiding the Allies alongside the All-American Squadron, but the Atlanteans are dedicated to keeping their crystal-based Vryll technology away from the surface world. Ivan attends the conference as Raclaw, due to Raclaw's status as a former sailor who's ship, the Melindia, suffered a bizarre attack at sea (the event which killed the real Raclaw), along with several other sea-faring protestors that Mina has agreed to address. Another member of the AAS known as Neptune is mentioned, but Mina states that he is not of Atlantean blood. The conference is interrupted when several Deep One hybrids hidden among the spectators stand up and accuse Atlantis of siding against their own people by remaining neutral in 1927. When Mina cites a treaty with Y'ha-nthlei that the Deep Ones violated when they attacked Lyonesse a thousand moons ago, the Deep Ones attack. Ivan assists security against them, as do two Hawks in attendance as bodyguards for King Milo and Queen Kidagakash, who were attending incognito.
Mina (Wilhelmina) Thatch's parents Milo and Kida are from Disney's 2001 animated film ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE, as is the crystal-based technology. Kenzo is a version of Namor McKenzie, aka the Sub-Mariner, who first appeared in MOTION PICTURE FUNNIES WEEKLY (1939). Vryll is more correctly spelled "Vril" and was the focus of the 1871 novel THE COMING RACE by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (reprinted as VRIL, THE POWER OF THE COMING RACE). Neptune is Neptune Perkins, who debuted in FLASH COMICS #66 (1945). The Deep Ones are references to Lovecraft's THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH (1931) which depicts the Massachusetts town of Innsmouth being overrun by Deep Ones until a 1927 raid by the United States military and Justice Department wiped the colony out. Lyonesse is a mythical island society, like Atlantis, from Arthurian legend, and as such has appeared in several works of fiction, notably Stephen R. Lawhead's PENDRAGON CYCLE of books. The Hawks are amalgamated Hawkmen characters introduced in FLASH GORDON comic strips and FLASH comic books. The death of Raclaw Schablotski and the fate of the Melindia are from the novel REANIMATRIX by Peter Rawlik, published in 2016.
The Deep Ones captured in Boston are sent to Arkham Sanitarium, where they ironically become patients of Ivan "Dr Raclaw" Schablotski and Dr Hugo Strange, who delights in the opportunity to study their physical deformities, correctly concluding that they are not entirely human. Ivan recognizes that Dr Strange is related to the Dr Absonus Strange he knew in 2013, and suspects Hugo is working towards something sinister. He discovers a lab in which Strange has been injecting human patients with Deep One blood and saliva, while subjecting them to chemical and electrical stimuli. Unable to report what he discovered without revealing his own future technology, Ivan instead helps one of the Deep Ones escape to the Miskatonic River. She returns with the Sea Witch, one of their elders, who destroys a good portion of the hospital in her rescue, exposing many of the outre residents and experiments when the police and fire department arrive.
The Deep Ones first appeared in Lovecraft'sSHADOWS OVER INNSMOUTH (1931). Dr. Hugo Strange first appeared in DETECTIVE COMICS#36 (1940). The Miskatonic River and Arkham Sanitarium both come from Lovecraft stories, THE PICTURE IN THE HOUSE(1920) and THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP (1937), respectively. The Sea Witch is likely related to the Sea Witch from Hans Christian Andersen's THE LITTLE MERMAID, which was published in 1837, and physically bears much resemblance to the Sea Witch character Ursula from the 1989 animated Disney adaptation of the story.
With Germany defeated, Japan does not last much longer and surrenders on November 5th, 1942. As many of the assorted members of the All-American Squadron return home to heroes' welcomes, Ivan visits Clifford during a visit to Boston. Knowing that the Manhattan Project was to create the Hydrogen Bomb, Ivan wonders if they may be working on other technology now, possibly technology that can return him to the future. Clifford reveals that a deal made with Atlantis, in part due to Ivan's assistance against the Deep Ones, gave America access to Vryll crystals and Stargate dials. Hopeful that he'll be able to return home soon, Ivan decides to relax and see a little more of 1942. He travels to Louisville KY and meets Harland Sanders, who was returning to North Corbin KY after working at an Ordnance depot in Tennessee. Ivan us disappointed to learn that Sanders' experience was NOT with the Department of the Ordnance (he is also unable to get Harland to reveal the secret recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken). The Kentucky Colonel suspects Ivan might not be right in the head, possibly a result of seeing combat overseas, and he tries to get him committed at Oldham Asylum in Lastrange. Ivan gets a call through to Dr. Hugo Strange at Arkham Sanitarium and the confusion is cleared up.
Clifford is Cliff Secord aka the Rocketeer (1982). Stargate: Atlantis (2004) is part of theSTARGATE franchise (1994). Colonel Sanders (1890 - 1980) is the mascot of KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN (1930) in addition to being the founder of the company. Dr Hugo Strange (1940) is a Batman character. The Deep Ones and Arkham Sanitarium are from Lovecraft's Mythos stories. Vryll is from VRIL, THE POWER ON THE COMING RACE (1871).
Ivan is taken to a secret lab in Washington DC where parts of a Stargate have been set up and energized. earlier experiments resulted in successful communication with, and later travel to, the world of Tom Strong, who is considered a counterpart to Clarke Savage. With Strong's assistance, recalibration for time travel seems possible, but no practical test has been carried out yet. Ivan is volunteered to be the first time traveler, a designation he finds ironic. The portal is opened via the super-speed of the Accelerator, and Ivan is sent through to the year 2015. Things do not go as planned (see 2015, October 21st Adjacent). Ivan returns to 1942 in January when he first arrived, with Nerinea and Constance, and frees George Maxon from Hell moments after he was taken. Ivan, Constance, and Nerinea return to 2015. With The Red Skull back in the timeline, things play out more or less as they were supposed to.
Tom Strong got his start in TOM STRONG #1, 1999. Doc Savage is fromDOC SAVAGE MAGAZINE #1(1933). Stargate is from the 1994 filmSTARGATE. The Accelerator is a version of the Flash from FLASH COMICS #1 (1940). Nerinea is a test subject from the PORTAL video game series (2007). George Maxon, aka the Red Skull, first appeared in CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1 (1941). The version of Hell visited is from THE HELLBOUND HEART (1986) by Clive Barker
"Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts." Shawn said.
"What?" Gus said.
"Look around, Do you see anything that looks like a giant bat costume?"
If Gus had been able to find a giant bat, he would have hit Shawn over the head with it. "That's not helping."
"Ask the citizens of Gotham City, I think you'll find they disagree." (233)
Given the crossovers with Flaxman Low and The Shadow, it seems rational to take this to mean Gotham City is a very real place.
On the real people seeming to be fictional in the same reality, James has posted: I don't have so much of a problem with the comic books existing in the same world. We have the same bizarre issue in the TVCU--look at The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, or other novels where comics featuring already crossed heroes exist within the same universe as the heroes themselves. I don't have a problem with it, mostly because the pulp heroes were aware of their magazines: Doc Savage made some negitive comics about Lester Dent, The Shadow novels were all based on his files (and Walter Gibson was a trusted agent--see The Sting of the Green Hornet and The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril), and a retired G-8 would answer his own letters page. If this level of metatextuality didn't affect the pulp heroes, I don't think it really affects the costumed adventuers.
Winter 1892--DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE/MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES MAGAZINE # 1--"The Life Story of King Kong"--Birth of Bruce Hagin Rassendyll, brother of Kent Allard (THE SHADOW) and half-brother of Richard Wentworth (THE SPIDER). His father is Ralph Rassendyll, cousin of Rudolph Rassendll (THE PRISONER OF ZENDA). Bruce will later go by the alias Jim "Red" Albright, and will have a heroic career first as G-8 then later as Captain Midnight. Bruce will also be the uncle of Cordwainer Bird.
TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 1: THE MODERN BABYLON “PENUMBRA” (SHORT STORY BY JEAN-MARC AND RANDY LOFFICIER)
Release Date: 2005 (Setting is 1916, during the events of Les Vampires)
Series: Tales of the Shadowmen
Horror Crosses: The Vampires
Non-Horror Crosses: Batman; Fantomas; Judex; Rouletabille; Nyctalope; the Shadow; Doctor Mystere; The Merry Widow
The Story: Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne are on honeymoon in Paris where they become targets of the infamous Vampires gang, and are aided by the vigilante hero Judex.
Notes: The Vampires are from the serial film Les Vampires. Batman’s inclusion here through his parents, based on the date of the setting, implies that this is the golden age version of Batman, and only his golden age tales, and other crossovers in this book, should be considered Horror Universe canon. Clearly there is a place for the Dark Knight Detective in this world, especially with some of his darker adventures. Fantomas is a pulp vigilante of the era, as is Rouletabille, the Nyctalope, the Shadow, and Doctor Mystere. Judex is a vigilante from the film serial of the same name. Interestingly, this story implies that the Shadow may be the true father of Batman. Though that wouldn’t fly as canon in the DC Comics Universe, it certainly may be true in the Horror Universe. The alias used by the Shadow of Col. Kentov is the same one used in Philip Jose Farmer’s Adventure of the Peerless Peer, thus I have an inclination to include that tale in Horror Universe canon as well despite its lack of horror crossovers. The Merry Widow is a film that is placed in canon due to references in this story.
October 1918--Based on theories from published Farmerian essays and stories, Jim "Red" Albright, the brother of Kent "the Shadow" Allard, changes his call sign from G-8 to Captain Midnight.
THE BLOODY RED BARON: ANNO DRACULA 1918 (NOVEL BY KIM NEWMAN)
Release Date: November 1995 (Setting is 1918)
Series: Anno Dracula
Animated Series Crosses: Peanuts
Other Crosses: The Shadow; Biggles; Sherlock Holmes; The Vampyre; Ashenden; The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari; Fantomas; Dr. Thorndyke; Bulldog Drummond; The Saint; The Island of Doctor Moreau; Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Batman (Silver Age); Harry Flashman; Doc Savage; Captain Midnight; Sidney Reilly; Lord Peter Wimsey; Lady Chatterley’s Lover; Arrowsmith; The Sun Also Rises; Averoigne; Enemy Ace; Grave of the Vampire; Hellraiser; Dawn Patrol; Robur the Conqueror; La Bete Humaine; Alraune; The Great Gatsby; A Rebours; The Black Cat; All Quiet on the Western Front; Sadie Thompson; Lemora; The Blue Angel; The Roaring Twenties; Gigi; Tarnished Angels; The Good Soldier Svejk; Jules et Jim; Le Roi de Coeur; The Last Flight; Billy Bunter; Judex; Dad’s Army; The Vampire Thrills; The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp; Faustine; Citizen Kane; The Bridge on the River Kwai; Oh! What a Lovely War; Paths of Glory; Metropolis; The Spy in Black; Near Dark; Forever Knight; Parade’s End; The Heap; Where Eagles Dare; Fright Night; Journey’s End; Dracula; The Big Parade; Anak Pontianak; The Blue Max; Necroscope; Revelations in Black; The Dragon Waiting; Paths of Glory; Under Two Flags; Doctor Who
The Story: During World War I, 30 years afte the events of Anno Dracula, the Diogenes Club tries to stop the Nazies from creating undead fighter pilots.
Notes: The Anno Dracula Universe is a divergent timeline, where Dracula married Queen Victoria during the events of Bram Stoker’s novel. This led to a very different reality. Snoopy appears in this story, having been shot down by the Red Baron. In the main Cartoon Universe, Snoopy’s battles with the Red Baron didn’t really happen, and were merely part of Snoopy’s imagination. It seems that in this divergent timeline, Snoopy indeed existed as a pilot in World War I, placing those imaginary scenarios and two popular songs in this divergent timeline. Perhaps the Snoopy of the main reality gets visions of his alternate timeline counterpart, which inspire his playtime. Other crosses listed above are also divergent versions that exist in the Anno Dracula timeline.
TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 4: LORDS OF TERROR “FOOL ME ONCE...” (SHORT STORY BY BILL CUNNINGHAM)
Release Date: 2008 (Setting is 1928)
Series: Tales of the Shadowmen
Horror Crosses: Fascinax; Invisible Man (novel); Phantom of the Louvre; Dracula (novel); Chandu the Magician
Non-Horror Crosses: Sherlock Holmes; Harry Dickson; James Bond; John Carter; Sexton Blake; Fantomas; Doc Ardan; Fu Manchu; Dr. Mabuse; Callan; Nyctalope; Nine Unknown; Shadow
The Story: Harry Dickson is asked by M of Her Majesty’s Secret Service to take the case involving three murders and is soon assisted by Fascinax.
Notes: Fascinax is a French occult investigator. There is mention of Griffin’s bandages and glasses from the Invisible Man. Belphegor is mentioned, from the Phantom of the Louvre. Seward’s Sanitarium is mentioned from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Roxor is mentioned, who is an enemy of Chandu the Magician. Dickson operates from Baker Street, residence of Sherlock Holmes. Professor Flax is also mentioned, a former foe of Dickson and Holmes. M here is probably the one after Mycroft Holmes, brother of Sherlock, and the one before Sir Miles Messervy from James Bond’s era. There is a mention of a U.S. Cavalry sword, likely (considering the context, the author, and the anthology) that of John Carter of Mars. Sexton Blake’s enemy M. Zenith is mentioned, as if Fantomas. Dr. Natas is also mentioned. Dr. Natas is from Doc Ardan: City of Gold and Lepers, and in the English translation was identified as Fu Manchu. Dr. Mabuse is also mentioned. He is the star of several silent films. Also mentioned are Callan (from the British television series) and the Leonid Zattan, enemy of the Nyctalope. The Nine Unknown are also mentioned. Though an immortal group secretly running the world, they are not so supernatural or horrific to be considered of the horror genre. Finally, Benedict Stark is mentioned, enemy of the Shadow, a hero of pulp and radio, who seems supernatural but in fact isn’t.
1930s--THE SHADOW--In 30's New York City, the Shadow battles his nemesis, Shiwan Khan, who is building an atomic bomb.
1930s--THE SHADOW--In 30's New York City, the Shadow battles his nemesis, Shiwan Khan, who is building an atomic bomb.
TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 5: THE VAMPIRES OF PARIS “THE MOST EXCITING GAME” (SHORT STORY BY XAVIER MAUMEJEAN)
Release Date: 2009 (Setting is 1930)
Series: Tales of the Shadowmen
Animated Series Crosses: Tintin
Other Crosses: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; The Shadow; Superman (Golden Age); Allan Quatermain; Hareton Ironcastle; The Lost World; Kull; Tarzan; Nero Wolfe; Philo Vance; Doc Savage (see Notes); Lost Horizon; From the Earth to the Moon; Sherlock Holmes; The People of the Pole; the Most Dangerous Game
The Story: A ship arrives in the harbour of New York, the entire crew brutally murdered. D.A. Markham must solve the case, hopefully with some assistance from a certain vigilante.
Notes: All the crosses above are mentioned or appear, thus bringing them all in. In this story, Margo Lane (girlfriend of the Shadow) mentions her sister Lois (as in Lois Lane, from Superman). This is a reference to Farmer’s joke in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life that they are sisters. Later, an online essay “The Amazing Lanes” on Mark Brown’s website expands on that. Though I don’t include internet essays, this story indeed makes official for Cartoon Universe canon that Margo and Lois are sisters. This doesn’t bring in all Superman stories, but it does bring in at the very least the golden age (1938 to 1949 or so).
JIM ANTHONY, SUPER-DETECTIVE: THE HUNTERS (NOVEL BY JOSH REYNOLDS AND MICAH S. HARRIS)
Release Date: May 1, 2010 (Setting is 1931)
Series: Jim Anthony, Super Detective
Horror Crosses: King Kong; The King in Yellow
Non-Horror Crosses: The Most Dangerous Game; Baltimore Gun Club; The Shadow; Doc Savage; The Works of Philip Jose Farmer
The Story: Jim Anthony teams with Count Zaroff to fight yetis in New York and then have adventures on Skull Island.
Notes: Anthony and Zaroff encounter the Venture but make it to Skull Island first and encounter Kong. Jim Anthony was a detective from the pulp era. Count Zaroff is from the Most Dangerous Game. The King in Yellow and the Baltimore Gun Club are also mentioned. The Shadow is also a major character of the story. Doc Savage is mentioned under the name of Doc Wildman, the name prescribed to him by Philip Jose Farmer. The climax of the novel takes place at the same time as the climax of King Kong and coincides with the events of the story “After King Kong Fell”.
MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES MAGAZINE # 1 “THE LIFE STORY OF KING KONG” (STORY BY JIM HARMON)
Release Date: June 1, 1974 (Setting is 1931)
Series: King Kong (original)
Non-Horror Crosses: G-8; Captain Midnight; The Spider; The Shadow; Smilin’ Jack Martin; Tailspin Tommy; Jimmie Allen; Tarzan
The Story: In this essay, Jim Harmon speculates on the events of King Kong. Specifically, he believes that the bi-planes that attacked Kong were actually flown by Captain Midnight (also known as G-8), Smilin’ Jack Martin, Tailspin Tommy and Jimmie Allen.
Notes: Harmon speculates G-8 (the pulp hero) and Captain Midnight (the radio hero) are one and the same character, having used both identities at different times in his career. He also says he does not believe the rumor that G-8 did “hide in the shadows like some creeping spider.” This is a reference to Farmer’s assertion in Tarzan Alive that G-8, the Shadow, and the Spider were actually one person with multiple personalities, which he later altered in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life to say they were brothers. Smilin’ Jack Martin and Tailspin Tommy were comic strip aviators. Jimmie Allen was a radio aviator hero.
THE GRAND ADVENTURE “WHEN KING KONG FELL” (STORY BY PHILIP JOSE FARMER)
Release Date: 1984 (Setting is 1931)
Series: King Kong (original)
Non-Horror Crosses: Doc Savage; The Shadow; Tim Howller
The Story: Doc Savage and his assistants, as well as the Shadow and Margo Lane, are present at the aftermath of Kong’s fall. Tim Howller is also present.
Notes: I don’t think I need to explain Doc Savage or the Shadow. Tim Howller also appears in Farmer’s story “The Face that Launched a Thousand Eggs”.
1930s--BLOOD OF THE CENTIPEDE--From the casebook of the mysterious Black Centipede, the true story of his adventures in Hollywood while filming the 1930s classic BLOOD OF THE CENTIPEDE! Chuck Miller, hand picked biographer of the Black Centipede finally tells a tale that involves Amelia Earhart, William Randolph Hearst, "Fatty" Arbuckle, and Los Angeles's own masked vigilante - the Blue Candiru in an adventure stranger than anything that happened on the big screen. Plus in the Centipede's own words, his first encounter with the enigmatic White Centipede! Crossovers include: LOVECRAFT'S CTHULHU MYTHOS, DOC SAVAGE, SUNSET BOULEVARD, KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER, SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE SHADOW, FAUST, and FRANKENSTEIN.
1931--A BURGLAR TO THE RESCUE--The story is about a bank president who has been stealing from the bank. One night, as he is working on the books to cover his crimes,a visitor arrives with a gun. In the conversation that ensues it is revealed the visitor is an escaped convict that was a formed employee of the bank who was railroaded to prison to cover the crooked banker's crime. As with other entries in this series,there is a shadow projected every so often with a voice forecasting what is to come.
1931--TRAPPED--ONE OF THE SHADOW DETECTIVE STORIES
1931--SEALED LIPS--A SHADOW DETECTIVE STORY
1931--HOUSE OF MYSTERY--Two hunters discover a dead young woman in a cabin in the woods.One of them being the sheriff, he proceeds to press the wealthy owner for an explanation. At first it looks like his son has killed his unfaithful wife, but the wife's lover and the family butler are acting suspiciously enough to be followed.
1932--THE RED SHADOW--A SHADOW DETECTIVE STORY
1932---THE CIRCUS SHOW-UP--The sixth in The Shadow series of shorts from Universal. In this one the circus trapeze artist falls to her death when someone flips the light switch just as she starts her famed triple somersault. It only takes the circus manager about fifteen minutes to figure out the obvious suspect was the guilty one.
1932--BLACK CENTIPEDE CONFIDENTIAL--The year is 1932. The place is Zenith, home of the mysterious Black Centipede. The sinister Professor James Moriarty comes calling, and he's brought a few friends with him: John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Ma Barker, Bonnie and Clyde, the Bell Witch, the Loch Ness Monster, and the rest of the deadly Order of the Sunless Circle. Moriarty is looking for Jack the Ripper's Analytical Engine, and is prepared to destroy Zenith to find it. Crossovers include: SHERLOCK HOLMES, DRACULA, THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK, THE METAMORPHOSIS, THE SHADOW, DOC SAVAGE, VIONNA AND THE VAMPIRES, LOVECRAFT'S CTHULHU MYTHOS, and DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. Moriarty is a vampire in this tale, having killed Dracula. There is a popular theory recurring in fiction that Moriarty was resurrected by Dracula and became a vampire. I'll leave that up to readers to determine what they think of these stories.
1937--THE SHADOW STRIKES--Lamont Cranston assumes his secret identity as "The Shadow", to break up an attempted robbery at an attorney's office. When the police search the scene, Cranston must assume the identity of the attorney. Before he can leave, a phone call summons the attorney to the home of Delthern, a wealthy client, who wants a new will drawn up. As Cranston meets with him, Delthern is suddenly shot, and Cranston is quickly caught up in a new mystery.
1930s--BLOOD OF THE CENTIPEDE--From the casebook of the mysterious Black Centipede, the true story of his adventures in Hollywood while filming the 1930s classic BLOOD OF THE CENTIPEDE! Chuck Miller, hand picked biographer of the Black Centipede finally tells a tale that involves Amelia Earhart, William Randolph Hearst, "Fatty" Arbuckle, and Los Angeles's own masked vigilante - the Blue Candiru in an adventure stranger than anything that happened on the big screen. Plus in the Centipede's own words, his first encounter with the enigmatic White Centipede! Crossovers include: LOVECRAFT'S CTHULHU MYTHOS, DOC SAVAGE, SUNSET BOULEVARD, KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER, SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE SHADOW, FAUST, and FRANKENSTEIN.
1931--A BURGLAR TO THE RESCUE--The story is about a bank president who has been stealing from the bank. One night, as he is working on the books to cover his crimes,a visitor arrives with a gun. In the conversation that ensues it is revealed the visitor is an escaped convict that was a formed employee of the bank who was railroaded to prison to cover the crooked banker's crime. As with other entries in this series,there is a shadow projected every so often with a voice forecasting what is to come.
1931--TRAPPED--ONE OF THE SHADOW DETECTIVE STORIES
1931--SEALED LIPS--A SHADOW DETECTIVE STORY
1931--HOUSE OF MYSTERY--Two hunters discover a dead young woman in a cabin in the woods.One of them being the sheriff, he proceeds to press the wealthy owner for an explanation. At first it looks like his son has killed his unfaithful wife, but the wife's lover and the family butler are acting suspiciously enough to be followed.
1932--THE RED SHADOW--A SHADOW DETECTIVE STORY
1932---THE CIRCUS SHOW-UP--The sixth in The Shadow series of shorts from Universal. In this one the circus trapeze artist falls to her death when someone flips the light switch just as she starts her famed triple somersault. It only takes the circus manager about fifteen minutes to figure out the obvious suspect was the guilty one.
1932--BLACK CENTIPEDE CONFIDENTIAL--The year is 1932. The place is Zenith, home of the mysterious Black Centipede. The sinister Professor James Moriarty comes calling, and he's brought a few friends with him: John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Ma Barker, Bonnie and Clyde, the Bell Witch, the Loch Ness Monster, and the rest of the deadly Order of the Sunless Circle. Moriarty is looking for Jack the Ripper's Analytical Engine, and is prepared to destroy Zenith to find it. Crossovers include: SHERLOCK HOLMES, DRACULA, THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK, THE METAMORPHOSIS, THE SHADOW, DOC SAVAGE, VIONNA AND THE VAMPIRES, LOVECRAFT'S CTHULHU MYTHOS, and DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. Moriarty is a vampire in this tale, having killed Dracula. There is a popular theory recurring in fiction that Moriarty was resurrected by Dracula and became a vampire. I'll leave that up to readers to determine what they think of these stories.
1937--THE SHADOW STRIKES--Lamont Cranston assumes his secret identity as "The Shadow", to break up an attempted robbery at an attorney's office. When the police search the scene, Cranston must assume the identity of the attorney. Before he can leave, a phone call summons the attorney to the home of Delthern, a wealthy client, who wants a new will drawn up. As Cranston meets with him, Delthern is suddenly shot, and Cranston is quickly caught up in a new mystery.
October 29 to November 1, 1937--WEIRD TALES OF THE SKULLMASK--"The Deadly Puppets"--A doorman is killed by seemingly living puppets. This story includes crossovers with THE SHADOW, GREEN HORNET, MOXIE DONOVAN, DOC SAVAGE, THE SPIDER, DR. SHADOWS.
1938--INTERNATIONAL CRIME--Lamont Cranston (Rod La Rocque), amateur criminologist and detective, with a daily radio program, sponsored by the Daily Classic newspaper, has developed a friendly feud that sometimes passes the friendly stage with Police Commissioner Weston (Thomas E. Jackson). He complains to his managing editor, Edward Heath (Oscar O'Shea), over the problems that have developed in his department since Phoebe Lane (Astrid Allwyn) has been hired as his assistant. He is advised to forget it since she is the publisher's niece. During his broadcast about Honest John (William Pawley), a famous safe cracker who has served his time, Phoebe gives him a note that the Metropolitan Theatre is to be robbed at eight o'clock and she is so insistent that he adds it as his closing note. Off the air, he learns she got the information from a man she met in a café who had an honest face. Cranston goes to the theatre where Weston and his men have gathered and, of course, nothing happens but, across town, a safe is blown at the home of international banker Gerald Morton (John St. Polis) and the banker is killed. Cranston arrives there ahead of the police and discovers enough evidence to show him that it wasn't just a simple robbery with the banker accidentally killed. The irate Weston has him jailed as a material witness, but Phoebe comes through with a habeas corpus in time for him to make his broadcast. Honest John crashes into the studio with a gun and demands that Cranston exonerates him over the air from the police suspicion that he committed the robbery. Weston rushes to the studio but Honest John has escaped. Cranston takes Phoebe on a tour of night clubs hoping she will spot the man who gave her the robbery message. She does and Cranston poses as a new arrival from Europe and learns that the man is Flotow (Wilhelm von Brincken) and his companion is Starkov (Tenen Holtz'). They make a date for lunch the next day. While they are waiting for him to join them for lunch, Cranston breaks into Flathow's apartment where he meets Phoebe who also has had the same idea. A phone call is answered and Morton's butler says there is a meeting at the Morton home that afternoon.
1938--INTERNATIONAL CRIME--Lamont Cranston (Rod La Rocque), amateur criminologist and detective, with a daily radio program, sponsored by the Daily Classic newspaper, has developed a friendly feud that sometimes passes the friendly stage with Police Commissioner Weston (Thomas E. Jackson). He complains to his managing editor, Edward Heath (Oscar O'Shea), over the problems that have developed in his department since Phoebe Lane (Astrid Allwyn) has been hired as his assistant. He is advised to forget it since she is the publisher's niece. During his broadcast about Honest John (William Pawley), a famous safe cracker who has served his time, Phoebe gives him a note that the Metropolitan Theatre is to be robbed at eight o'clock and she is so insistent that he adds it as his closing note. Off the air, he learns she got the information from a man she met in a café who had an honest face. Cranston goes to the theatre where Weston and his men have gathered and, of course, nothing happens but, across town, a safe is blown at the home of international banker Gerald Morton (John St. Polis) and the banker is killed. Cranston arrives there ahead of the police and discovers enough evidence to show him that it wasn't just a simple robbery with the banker accidentally killed. The irate Weston has him jailed as a material witness, but Phoebe comes through with a habeas corpus in time for him to make his broadcast. Honest John crashes into the studio with a gun and demands that Cranston exonerates him over the air from the police suspicion that he committed the robbery. Weston rushes to the studio but Honest John has escaped. Cranston takes Phoebe on a tour of night clubs hoping she will spot the man who gave her the robbery message. She does and Cranston poses as a new arrival from Europe and learns that the man is Flotow (Wilhelm von Brincken) and his companion is Starkov (Tenen Holtz'). They make a date for lunch the next day. While they are waiting for him to join them for lunch, Cranston breaks into Flathow's apartment where he meets Phoebe who also has had the same idea. A phone call is answered and Morton's butler says there is a meeting at the Morton home that afternoon.
1938--MASKS--An adventure featuring Green Hornet, Kato, The Shadow, Miss Fury, Black Bat, Zorro, The Spider and others.
1938--MASKS 2--The Shadow. The Green Hornet and Kato. Black Terror. These are just a few masked vigilantes drawn into a mystery that spans the decades - a plot that threatens our society again and again. With the devastating power to kill thousands of people in a matter of seconds, the Red Death is a villain who may be impossible to stop. It will take more than a dozen masked heroes from three different time periods to stop this madwoman from bringing the world to its knees!
Spring 1939--THE SHADOW/GREEN HORNET: DARK NIGHTS--The Shadow and Green Hornet team up to save the president. Roosevelt has a silver bullet given to him as a child from the Lone Ranger. There are also references to Doc Savage, Nick Carter, the Avenger, and Supersnipe Comics.This story may be contradicted by Sting of the Green Hornet, as pointed out by Sean Levin. I'm placing both stories on the timeline and allowing each reader to determine which they prefer. If someone comes up with a way to include both stories, please let me know.
Summer 1939--CAPTAIN SPECTRE--A bunch of kids learn that their favorite radio hero, Captain Spectre, is real, which leads them to theorize that other fictional heroes may actually exist. This story has crossover links to: TARZAN, JOHN CARTER, DOC SAVAGE, THE SHADOW, THE SPIDER, CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT, and THE GREEN HORNET.
1939--THE DEATH'S HEAD CLOUD--Jim Anthony takes on a madman who has created a deadly fog. Crossovers include: FAR BELOW, LOVECRAFT'S CTHULHU MYTHOS, ARSENE LUPIN, LES VAMPIRES, MICHAEL MOORCOCK'S MULTIVERSE, DR. DEATH, DR. SATAN, FU MANCHU, FANTOMAS, GREEN HORNET, DILLON, DOC SAVAGE, SPIDER-MAN, CITIZEN KANE, THE PHANTOM, THE BLACK BAT, THE KINGSCOTE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, ST. TRINIAN'S, A LITTLE PRINCESS, SUSPIRIA, THE SPIDER, THE DOMINO LADY, THE SHADOW, NERO WOLFE, THE LOST WORLD, THE GREEN LLAMA, RAVENWOOD, and TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA.
1940--THE SHADOW--The Shadow battles a villain known as The Black Tiger, who has the power to make himself invisible and is trying to take over the world with his death ray.
World War II--THE TWILIGHT ZONE: THE SHADOW # 1--"Shadow of a Doubt"--The Shadow from the pulps finds himself transported into the Twilight Zone, where he finds himself in the alternate universe of the radio drama. In the TVCU, we attempt to reconcile the radio show with the pulps. However, we do acknowledge the existence of a separate Old Time Radio Universe within the larger Television Crossover Multiverse. Clearly, this story involves the TVCU Shadow visiting the OTRU. Note that this story establishes "the Twilight Zone" as a series of alternate realities, a multiverse, in which exists several alternate versions of the Shadow. This would imply that the Twilight Zone is the Television Crossover Multiverse, and further, this story brings the entirety of the Twilight Zone series into TVCU canon, although each episode could take place in separate realities of the larger multiverse.
1940--THE SHADOW--The Shadow battles a villain known as The Black Tiger, who has the power to make himself invisible and is trying to take over the world with his death ray.
World War II--THE TWILIGHT ZONE: THE SHADOW # 1--"Shadow of a Doubt"--The Shadow from the pulps finds himself transported into the Twilight Zone, where he finds himself in the alternate universe of the radio drama. In the TVCU, we attempt to reconcile the radio show with the pulps. However, we do acknowledge the existence of a separate Old Time Radio Universe within the larger Television Crossover Multiverse. Clearly, this story involves the TVCU Shadow visiting the OTRU. Note that this story establishes "the Twilight Zone" as a series of alternate realities, a multiverse, in which exists several alternate versions of the Shadow. This would imply that the Twilight Zone is the Television Crossover Multiverse, and further, this story brings the entirety of the Twilight Zone series into TVCU canon, although each episode could take place in separate realities of the larger multiverse.
1942
THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WASN'T - Ivan Schablotski arrives in Chicago in the year 1942 following the events of October 21, 2016 in Hill Valley, CA. Chicago Police Detective Tracy discovers the time traveler and sends him to see an inventor in New York City that may be the only person alive to have the means to initiate time travel. Going by train, Ivan's Ghostbuster uniform
and gear lead people to believe he is in the military, possibly one of the "All-American Squadron" operatives who wore fanciful outfits and appeared in public relations films and posters. Because of this misidentification, when the train is delayed in Cleveland Ivan is asked to investigate the sabotage of a Bomber Plant. He discovers George Maxon, an American industrialist and Nazi sympathiser who is using a box he calls his "Cosmic Cube" to destroy planes and kill soldiers and workers, as well as to open gateways that allow him to escape when superior forces arrive. Ivan recognizes the cube as a Lemarchand Puzzle Box and tries to warn George that every time he uses it he is consigning parts of his body and soul to Hell. Maxon swears that the United States is heading there anyway, since they refuse to support Germany in its holy mission to purify Europe. Maxon is unaware that his own skin is being twisted and distorted every time he uses the box, and that his face is now inside out, making his head resemble a gristly red skull. When Maxon sees Ivan become a werewolf, he tries to escape with another gateway, but is prevented from escape, and a Hell Priest steps through the portal, intent on bringing George his eternal reward of suffering and torment. The demon briefly considers taking Ivan as well, but claims he has no use for a soul that is already condemned to a worse fate than even he could administrate.
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| Maxon threats Ivan with the Box |
THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WASN'T - Ivan Schablotski arrives in Chicago in the year 1942 following the events of October 21, 2016 in Hill Valley, CA. Chicago Police Detective Tracy discovers the time traveler and sends him to see an inventor in New York City that may be the only person alive to have the means to initiate time travel. Going by train, Ivan's Ghostbuster uniformand gear lead people to believe he is in the military, possibly one of the "All-American Squadron" operatives who wore fanciful outfits and appeared in public relations films and posters. Because of this misidentification, when the train is delayed in Cleveland Ivan is asked to investigate the sabotage of a Bomber Plant. He discovers George Maxon, an American industrialist and Nazi sympathiser who is using a box he calls his "Cosmic Cube" to destroy planes and kill soldiers and workers, as well as to open gateways that allow him to escape when superior forces arrive. Ivan recognizes the cube as a Lemarchand Puzzle Box and tries to warn George that every time he uses it he is consigning parts of his body and soul to Hell. Maxon swears that the United States is heading there anyway, since they refuse to support Germany in its holy mission to purify Europe. Maxon is unaware that his own skin is being twisted and distorted every time he uses the box, and that his face is now inside out, making his head resemble a gristly red skull. When Maxon sees Ivan become a werewolf, he tries to escape with another gateway, but is prevented from escape, and a Hell Priest steps through the portal, intent on bringing George his eternal reward of suffering and torment. The demon briefly considers taking Ivan as well, but claims he has no use for a soul that is already condemned to a worse fate than even he could administrate.
Dick Tracy is the titular detective from the DICK TRACY comic strip started in 1931 (the 2-way wrist radio would not be introduced until 1946). The unnamed inventor residing in the Empire State Building is Doctor Clark Savage, Jr. from DOC SAVAGE MAGAZINE #1 (1933). The All-American Squadron is an homage to the All-Star Squadron (DC Comics) and All-Winners Squad (Marvel Comics) as well as other World War II era super groups and the comicbook company All-American Publications. George Maxon was the original Red Skull from CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1 (1941). The Cosmic Cube first appeared in TALES OF SUSPENSE #79 in 1966. The LeMarchand Box and the Hell Priest (Pinhead the Cenobite) are from Clive Barker's story "The Hellbound Heart" (1986).  |
| Clifford and Ivan |
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| Ivan and Jonas |
Ivan continues on to New York City to the Empire State Building, but instead of the inventor he meets Clifford, a man who really is in the All-American Squadron and knows Ivan is a fraud. They briefly scuffle when Clifford believes Ivan's Tillinghast generator to be a duplicated rocket pack, but the sudden appearance of a mystic villain calling himself the Emperor unites them gainst the
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| The alien Emperor |
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| The Hawks |
Clifford is Cliff Secord, a.k.a. the Rocketeer, who first appeared in STARSLAYER #1, 1982. Jonas is an alias of the Shadow, who first appeared on DETECTIVE STORY HOUR radio serial in 1930. The Emperor is a known identity of Ming the Merciless, from the FLASH GORDON comic strips (1934). The Hawkmen also originated in that comic strip, though here they are conflated with Hawkman and Hawkgirl from FLASH COMICS #1 (1940).
Jonas promises to do what he can, but suggests that in the meantime, Ivan should try his best to blend in. Knowing his family is from Massachusetts, Ivan moves to Arkham MA and poses as his lost great uncle Raclaw, who was last seen in the states in 1919. As Raclaw, Ivan claims he is a scientist and gets hired at Arkham Sanitarium. Though his knowledge from their future gives him the appearance of scholarship, he lacks genuine scientific discipline and he is called upon to teach at Miskatonic University much more often than he is allowed to work with patients at the asylum. Ivan's mention of reanimation experiments conjures memories of Herbert West and the evils associated with his name, and Raclaw soon loses the respect of the Professors at MU, leaving him to function as a medical assistant, though he does gain a reputation as someone willing to assist with questionable research, as he had hoped. He finally gains some acceptance when dealing with a young patient believed to be possessed. In fact, she was possessed, but Ivan offered himself to the demon, Pazuzu, in exchange for the child, and as it discovered Ivan cannot be possessed by spirits (a side-effect of the Anti-Logic), Ivan discovered that keeping his Ghostbusting equipment at work was a good idea after all. The demon is driven away and Raclaw" is hailed as a hero of parapsychology. |
| Ivan treats a girl possessed by Pazuzu |
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| The Bat |
Ivan's success with the possessed patient gets him assigned to other patients with somewhat more esoteric ailments than normal. He is introduced to a 'permanent' resident patient called Laughing Jack, who almost never eats, except meat, and he prefers his as raw as possible. Jack is delighted by Ivan, whom he calls a "Nowhere Man", and claims they have a lot in common. Eventually Ivan gets Jack to admit that his name is Schadenfreude, but when Ivan reveals that the word is German for "taking pleasure from others' misery", Jack sighs and tells Ivan to pick one instead; maybe Jasper suits him today. Eventually Ivan's 'doctor / patient' relationship with Jack earns him a visit from a masked man called the Bat, who insists that Jack is too dangerous for anyone to get close to. Ivan seeks to rattle Jack by commenting to him about the visit, and Jack merely scoffs, claiming that he remembers when the Bat's father wore the suit, and wore it better at that. Finally Ivan runs some tests and discovers Jack, despite having healthy vital signs, is clinically dead, and likely has been dead for at least three decades, possibly five, and may be some kind of ghoul / lich creature... but clearly is unaware of his status among the living-impaired. |
| Jack studies Ivan studying Jack |
Clifford invites Ivan to visit New York so he can meet with Strategic Scientific Reserve agent Carter. Carter is fascinated to meet a Future Man but determines that learning about upcoming threats to America from him could cause more harm than good. She mentions that the Bat did not feel Ivan was suitable for serving in the All-American Squadron, but he may be called upon to help with local crises, in exchange for the government making a priority of developing safe passage for him back to the future. While in New York, Ivan meets some soldiers preparing to return to Europe. They tell him that All-Americans like Colonel Courage & Bugle Boy, Captain Powderkeg, the Accelerator, and Princess Paradise have met the Russians in Austria and speculate on how they might react to Octobriana, should they meet during the concerted Allied front against Germany before the end of Summer. Ivan ponders the timing, as he's sure Germany shouldn't be defeated in 1942.
Agent Peggy Carter is a Marvel Comics character who first appeared in TALES OF SUSPENSE #77 (1966), though this version of the character draws mostly from the Marvel Cinematic Universe take, which debuted in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011). Colonel Courage & Bugle Boy, Captain Powderkeg, the Accelerator, and Princess Paradise are homage characters standing in for Captain America & Bucky, Captain Marvel, the Flash, and Wonder Woman. Octobriana is fromOCTOBRIANA AND THE RUSSIAN UNDERGROUNDby Petr Sadecký (1971).
As Raclaw, Ivan publically defeats a demon at the Arkham Train Depot using his Tillinghast Generator, creating a bit of a sensation. Several people start trying to build their own 'spirit box' devices. Ultimately Ivan accidentally founds a Ghostbusters franchise in 1942, though he is careful not to use that name; he refers to them as Ghost Breakers and his many recruits, most of whom are Miskatonic University students, set up their headquarters on campus. Alarmed that he might draw the attention of the real Raclaw Schablotski's still-living relatives in Massachusetts, Ivan insists on making engineering professor Basil Dinkley the public head of the "Ghost Breakers Club". After they've been active for about a month, the group is contacted by Larry Lawrence who claims to represent the 'official' Ghost Breakers and threatens to sue, prompting Ivan and Raymond to rename their group "The Real Ghost Breakers".
Tillinghast Generator and Miskatonic University are elements of Lovecraft's Mythos Cycle of stories, specifically FROM BEYOND(1920) and HERBERT WEST-REANIMATOR(1922). Basil Dinkley is related to Velma Dinkley from SCOOBY DOO, WHERE ARE YOU (1969) and other cartoons, though he cannot be the same Dr. Basil Von Dinkenstein Velma claims was her great great uncle in SCOOBY DOO! FRANKENCREEPY (2014) as that Basil was said to be the monster maker who inspired Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN novel in the 1800s. Larry Lawrence is from the 1940 filmGHOST BREAKERS, an adaptation of an earlier play The Ghost Breaker (1909). The Real Ghost Breakers is a play on the animated Ghostbusters cartoon titled THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS due to an already existing Ghostbusters television property. Ghostbusters, of course, reflects both the Filmation GHOST BUSTERS property and the Sony GHOSTBUSTERSproperty.
Schablotski's patient "Laughing" Jack escapes Arkham Sanitarium with the help of a scandalously-clad anarchist calling herself The Mad Bombshell. Ivan tries to track them down in the Ghost Wagon, an old fire truck donated to the Ghost Breakers, but finds Bombshell already captured by Colonel Courage and Maiden America, home from the war effort in Europe. Ivan greets them and wishes them well against Parsifal, which leads to his explaining that Parseval is a vampire in the employ of the Third Reich (information Ivan gained during his time with the Ordnance in the 1990s). Ivan does not find Jack; his appearance and personality have changed so much in just a few days, Ivan does not recognize him when he does happen to locate him. Ivan wishes he had disposed of the undead fiend when he had it in captivity, but since Jack, whatever kind of undead he is, has a heartbeat (or else something that simulates one), it would be be difficult to eliminate the undead creature without being accused of murder.Laughing Jack and the Mad Bombshell are versions of the Joker and Harley Quinn, characters from the Batman comic books of DC Comics. Colonel Courage and Maiden America represent Captain America and Miss America from comic books published by Timely (Marvel) Comics. Arkham Asylum is from the stories of H P Lovecraft but was appropriated for use in DC Comics as a place for Batman's criminally insane foes to be locked up. Parsifal is a character from the DC Comics Elseworld series THE GOLDEN AGE (1993) who was reportedly killed by the Americommando, a DC character similar in design to Captain America.
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| Demonic entity attacks Arkham |
Growing frustrated with life in 1942, Ivan seeks out a sorcerer he believes was active in that year, according to records from 2015. Doctor Mystic is indeed around, but he immediately senses Ivan's link to the Anti-Logic, which represents powerful Chaos magick. Mystic has to attempt a removal of this influence on Ivan before his own Order-based spells can have any hope of sending him home, but the effort releases a powerful spirit from the Sidhe which Ivan and Mystic then have to defeat. Mystic realizes Ivan cannot have Anti-Logic removed until a point in time after it was already bonded to him, as the Anti-Logic represents forces that are currently active in 1942. Mystic suggests that using the same method of time travel that originally brought him here is likely the only way to get back to the future. Doctor Mystic is a stand-in for Doctor Fate (MORE FUN COMICS #55, 1940) and other magical heroes from the Golden Age. Anti-Logic is a fraction of the Anti-Life Equation, which originally appeared in Jack Kirby's Fourth World stories at DC Comics.
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| Ivan and Mina |
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| The Hawks in formalwear |
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| Kida and Milo |
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| Deep One Protestors |
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| Schablotski & Strange |
The Deep Ones captured in Boston are sent to Arkham Sanitarium, where they ironically become patients of Ivan "Dr Raclaw" Schablotski and Dr Hugo Strange, who delights in the opportunity to study their physical deformities, correctly concluding that they are not entirely human. Ivan recognizes that Dr Strange is related to the Dr Absonus Strange he knew in 2013, and suspects Hugo is working towards something sinister. He discovers a lab in which Strange has been injecting human patients with Deep One blood and saliva, while subjecting them to chemical and electrical stimuli. Unable to report what he discovered without revealing his own future technology, Ivan instead helps one of the Deep Ones escape to the Miskatonic River. She returns with the Sea Witch, one of their elders, who destroys a good portion of the hospital in her rescue, exposing many of the outre residents and experiments when the police and fire department arrive.
The Deep Ones first appeared in Lovecraft'sSHADOWS OVER INNSMOUTH (1931). Dr. Hugo Strange first appeared in DETECTIVE COMICS#36 (1940). The Miskatonic River and Arkham Sanitarium both come from Lovecraft stories, THE PICTURE IN THE HOUSE(1920) and THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP (1937), respectively. The Sea Witch is likely related to the Sea Witch from Hans Christian Andersen's THE LITTLE MERMAID, which was published in 1837, and physically bears much resemblance to the Sea Witch character Ursula from the 1989 animated Disney adaptation of the story. |
| "Raclaw" and Col. Sanders |
With Germany defeated, Japan does not last much longer and surrenders on November 5th, 1942. As many of the assorted members of the All-American Squadron return home to heroes' welcomes, Ivan visits Clifford during a visit to Boston. Knowing that the Manhattan Project was to create the Hydrogen Bomb, Ivan wonders if they may be working on other technology now, possibly technology that can return him to the future. Clifford reveals that a deal made with Atlantis, in part due to Ivan's assistance against the Deep Ones, gave America access to Vryll crystals and Stargate dials. Hopeful that he'll be able to return home soon, Ivan decides to relax and see a little more of 1942. He travels to Louisville KY and meets Harland Sanders, who was returning to North Corbin KY after working at an Ordnance depot in Tennessee. Ivan us disappointed to learn that Sanders' experience was NOT with the Department of the Ordnance (he is also unable to get Harland to reveal the secret recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken). The Kentucky Colonel suspects Ivan might not be right in the head, possibly a result of seeing combat overseas, and he tries to get him committed at Oldham Asylum in Lastrange. Ivan gets a call through to Dr. Hugo Strange at Arkham Sanitarium and the confusion is cleared up.Clifford is Cliff Secord aka the Rocketeer (1982). Stargate: Atlantis (2004) is part of theSTARGATE franchise (1994). Colonel Sanders (1890 - 1980) is the mascot of KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN (1930) in addition to being the founder of the company. Dr Hugo Strange (1940) is a Batman character. The Deep Ones and Arkham Sanitarium are from Lovecraft's Mythos stories. Vryll is from VRIL, THE POWER ON THE COMING RACE (1871).
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| Tom Strong |
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| The Accelerator and Ivan |
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| Toni, trying to fit in |
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| Vryll power supply. |
May 1942--STING OF THE GREEN HORNET (NOW COMICS)--In this story, we find the Green Hornet encountering THE SHADOW (also a pulp hero who started in radio), and CAPTAIN AMERICA (though including Cap doesn't include all his appearances, just as with the TVCU Superman.) Also appearing are Clark Jerome Kent (SUPERMAN) and Lois Lane, NICK FURY, and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (Note that when real people appear in the TVCU, it is their TVCU counterparts, who usually are very similar to the real world versions, but have had additional experiences that replace real world experiences.) Also referenced are the SUB-MARINER and the YANKEE COMMANDO. Note that it's been pointed out to me that just saying this Superman's Lois and that Lois is confusing. So I should point out the difference. So the comic book version is Lois Lane, who has sisters Lucy and Margo. Margo is the one associated with the Shadow, and Lucy married a man named Tompkins and had a bratty daughter Suzie. However, there happens that while this Lois is working for the Star in Cleveland, another Lois is working for the Planet in L.A. She too is Lois Lane. See, comic Lois is the youngest sister, and in fact Lucy is much older, and her daughter was also named Lois after her sister. So you see the Lois Lanes are cousins of very close age.
June 1945--LEGENDS OF NEW PULP FICTION--"Chance of a Ghost"--This Green Ghost adventure includes crossover links to: LOVECRAFT'S CTHULHU MYTHOS, THE SHADOW, THE SPIDER, THE GREEN LAMA, SECRET AGENT X, THE SAINT, THE WHISPERER, THE BLACK BAT, NERO WOLFE, CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT, THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE, THE DOMINO LADY, KI-GOR, PIMPERNEL SMITH, THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, DOC SAVAGE, THE WORKS OF PHILIP JOSE FARMER (commonly known as the Wold Newton Universe), JULES DE GRANDIN, THE WORKS OF WIN SCOTT ECKERT (the successor to Philip Jose Farmer), and THE FILMS OF QUENTIN TARANTINO. This story works within the framework established by Farmerians that in this fictional universe, the real world NYC commissioner is the commissioner of this fictional reality, and all the other NYC police commissioners seen in fiction are actually assistant commissioners assigned to particular burroughs of New York.
Fall 1945--IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN 2: MORE NEW STORIES OF OLD-TIME RADIO--"The Maker of Werewolves"--THE AVENGER (Jim Brandon) battles Doctor Krueger, who claims to have once been known as Moriarty. THE SHADOW appears at the end to advice Brandon to use his power of invisibility only for good.
1946--THE SHADOW RETURNS--People are literally flying off balconies to their deaths as Lamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, tries to make sense out of a confusing jumble of murders, disappearances, jewels that aren't jewels, hidden laboratories and secret formulas.
1946--BEHIND THE MASK--Lamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, has his hands full as the murder of blackmailing reporter Jeff Mann is blamed on him. Not only does the real murderer seem one step ahead of him as Lamont tries to discover his identity, but he is continually hampered from gaining crucial evidence by his jealous, interfering fiancée Margo Lane. Cranston perseveres and is rewarded with the clue he needs at one of Mann's victims' nightclubs.
1946--THE MISSING LADY--A jade statue, the "missing lady", is stolen and its owner killed. Lamont Cranston, alias the Shadow, sets out to catch the killer but is blamed for the murders himself as each time he investigates some facet of the case another suspect is killed.
1954--THE SHADOW--Lamont Cranston, a psychiatrist on retainer to the police department, is asked to assist in the Case of the Cotton Kimono murder investigation. Lamont and his girlfriend Margot Lane are not satisfied with Detective Harris' analysis and call on the two prime suspects: the victim's voice instructor and her boyfriend. When Harris, convinced that the boyfriend is guilty, frames the young man for the crime, Lamont is forced to assume his secret identity as "The Shadow", and cloaked by his power of invisibility, seeks to force the true killer to reveal himself.
1958--THE INVISIBLE AVENGER--Lamont Cranston, aka The Shadow, investigates the murder of a New Orleans bandleader.
1946--THE SHADOW RETURNS--People are literally flying off balconies to their deaths as Lamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, tries to make sense out of a confusing jumble of murders, disappearances, jewels that aren't jewels, hidden laboratories and secret formulas.
1946--BEHIND THE MASK--Lamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, has his hands full as the murder of blackmailing reporter Jeff Mann is blamed on him. Not only does the real murderer seem one step ahead of him as Lamont tries to discover his identity, but he is continually hampered from gaining crucial evidence by his jealous, interfering fiancée Margo Lane. Cranston perseveres and is rewarded with the clue he needs at one of Mann's victims' nightclubs.
1946--THE MISSING LADY--A jade statue, the "missing lady", is stolen and its owner killed. Lamont Cranston, alias the Shadow, sets out to catch the killer but is blamed for the murders himself as each time he investigates some facet of the case another suspect is killed.
1954--THE SHADOW--Lamont Cranston, a psychiatrist on retainer to the police department, is asked to assist in the Case of the Cotton Kimono murder investigation. Lamont and his girlfriend Margot Lane are not satisfied with Detective Harris' analysis and call on the two prime suspects: the victim's voice instructor and her boyfriend. When Harris, convinced that the boyfriend is guilty, frames the young man for the crime, Lamont is forced to assume his secret identity as "The Shadow", and cloaked by his power of invisibility, seeks to force the true killer to reveal himself.
1958--THE INVISIBLE AVENGER--Lamont Cranston, aka The Shadow, investigates the murder of a New Orleans bandleader.
June 1967--HELLTOWN--This story occurs just after Charles Victor Szasz has begun operating as THE QUESTION. The Question, in a conversation with his mentor, brings up past mystery men, including THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, THE GREEN HORNET, WILDCAT, THE SANDMAN, and BLACK CANARY. Later on, Batman II (Dick Grayson) has a conversation with his butler Alfred Pennyworth (who is not the same as Bruce's former butler Alfred Beagle) in which they mention THE SHADOW. RICHARD DRAGON and Lady Shiva are also involved in the tale, and ORACLE is mentioned. Oracle is the first Barbara Gordon, who once operated as Batgirl in the 1940s. After the Joker (the original) shot her, she was paralyzed, but became an information broker to the world's heroes. Barbara is the daughter of former Police Commissioner James W. Gordon (aka THE WHISPERER) and the sister of current Police Commissioner Tony Gordon. She is also the aunt of Tony's daughter Barbara, who is now the second Batgirl.
September 1970--INVISIBLE DEATH--PRINCE ZARKON visits the Cobalt Club (frequently visited by THE SHADOW) and consults with the Shadow, THE SPIDER, the second GREEN HORNET, Bruce Wayne, and Ham Brooks (one of DOC SAVAGE's assistants). Also appearing, mentioned, or inferred are: NANCY DREW, THE THINKING MACHINE, ELLERY QUEEN, WU FANG, CAPTAIN HAZZARD, and DOCTOR DEATH.
October 1973 to 1974--GREATHEART SILVER--Allegedly the deaths of many great heroes of the pulp era, including G-8. However, an explanation for the reappearance of some of these heroes later on may be reconciled here. Other crossovers include: DOC SAVAGE, THE SHADOW, THE AVENGER, JAMES BOND, PETE RICE, LONE RANGER, THE SCORPION, THE OCTOPUS, DR. YEN SIN, FU MANCHU, DR. DEATH, WU FANG, DAN FOWLER, SECRET AGENT X, THE SPIDER, DOC HARKER, THE SILVER BUCK, THE GREEN LAMA, CAPTAIN SATAN, THE CRIMSON MASK, THE SCARLET WIZARD, THE MOON MAN, THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE, THE WHISPERER, OPERATOR # 5, THE BLACK BAT, THE GREEN GHOST, CAPTAIN ZERO, TREASURE ISLAND, and DAVID COPPERFIELD.
QUEST FOR DREAMS LOST # 1 (LITERACY VOLUNTEERS OF CHICAGO)
Release Date: 1987 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage/Eastman & Laird) from Turtles Prime; Trollords; Silent Invasion; The Realm; Wordsmith; Reacto Man; Eb’nn; Tales from the Aniverse
Horror Crosses: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Non-Horror Crosses: The Maltese Falcon; The Time Machine; The Pied Piper; The Shadow; Wizard of Oz (film); The Phantom Detective
The Story: When two movers find that the contents of the moving truck are missing, contents that include valuable artifacts, they call on real heroes to help.
Notes: Leonardo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is sent to Central Park to retrieve Excalibur. This version of the Turtles is the original version created by Eastman and Laird. According to the film Turtles Forever, they exist on the divergent timeline called Turtles Prime. Of course, many of these mini-stories in this one shot seem to exist in alternate realities, but considering that one person owned all these artifacts, surely he is a man who can summon heroes from throughout time and space. Excalibur is from Arthurian legend, and thus doesn’t count for crossovers since Arthurian legend seems to exist in the history of practically every timeline. The Trollords travel to Hell to face Charon at the river Styx to retrieve his staff. The Trollords were from an independent comic about three trolls that cheated death and thereafter find themselves pursued by the Grim Reaper while at the same time working to convince humans of the value of their lives. Due to the nature of this story, it’s impossible to determine which timeline the Trollords come from, but they certainly exist within the larger Horror Multiverse. Charon comes from Greek mythology, which follows the same rules as Arthurian legend. Matt Sinkage (from the independent comic Silent Invasion) recovers the Picture of Dorian Gray. Silent Invasion is an alien conspiracy story set in the 1950s which fits nicely into the main Horror Universe timeline, which is good since obviously the PIcture of Dorian Gray is solidly in the main Horror Universe. Adventurers from “the Realm” retrieve the ruby slippers from the Wicked Witch of Oz. The Realm is about a group of friends who are transported to the realm of Azoth. The heroes may originate from the Earth of the main Horror Universe, but at least a divergent timeline, and Azoth is certainly a pocket dimension within the Horror Multiverse. Almost all the references to Wizard of Oz within this reference guide have been to the film version, so it’s clear that the film is the Horror Universe version. Dorothy must have come from the Horror Universe, and the Oz she visited must have been a pocket reality within the Horror Multiverse. The one anomaly is the Supernatural crossover that portrays a very different interpretation of Dorothy and her visit to Oz. We can assume that this is a totally different Dorothy who visited a different Oz. One problem with this story being about the film version is that the Wicked Witch should be dead, but more than one Oz sequel has portrayed a resurrected Witch. The Wordsmith is sent for the ring of the pulp hero called the Shadow, and the story also involves the Phantom Detective. The Wordsmith is an independent comic about a writer during the depression. The Shadow has been well established as a character in the Horror Universe. This story brings in the Phantom Detective. It’s clear from the story that the Wordsmith, the Shadow, and the Phantom Detective coexist in the same timeline, which would be the main Horror Universe. Reacto Man retrieves the Time Machine (from the novel of H.G. Wells). Reacto Man was a super-hero from an independent comic. Since the Time Machine from H.G. Wells is well established in the Horror Universe, Reacto Man is likely also from the main Horror Universe timeline. Eb’nn is sent to retrieve the Maltese Falcon. Eb’nn is a raven bounty hunter from a wild west reality of anthropomorphic talking animals. This pocket reality must exist within the Horror Multiverse. The Maltese Falcon, on the other hand, is well established as being in the main Horror Universe timeline. J.B. Space of the Aniverse goes after the Pied Piper’s pipe. The Aniverse is a futuristic reality of anthropomorphic talking animals which must be a part of the Horror Multiverse. The Pied Piper has been established via Tales of the Shadowmen to be a character in the Horror Universe that can travel through time. This comic features all heroes from independent comics and was created as a fundraiser for the Literacy Volunteers of Chicago.
December 1988--DOC SAVAGE VOLUME 2 # 1 - 6--"The Discord Makers"--Doc Savage performs a hypnotic technique he learned from The Shadow, using a girasol. Also, while in Washington, D.C., Monk Mayfair and Ham Brooks walk past a graffiti-painted fence which has the names of many rock stars and bands, including REM, Iggy Pop, Elvis, PIL, and Buckaroo Banzai. The full name of the band is Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers. Thus, Buckaroo exists in The Television Crossover Universe. The Shadow reference is in issue 6; the graffiti scene is in issue 3. Entries in blue originate from Win Scott Eckert's original crossover chronology found at http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Pulp.htm. Used with permission under the agreement that any use of entries from his chronology provide a link back to the original source material.
SPIDER-MAN/X-MEN: TIME’S ARROW (TRILOGY BY TOM DEFALCO)
Release Date: July 1 - September 1, 1998 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Spider-Man; X-Men
Horror Crosses: Godzilla
Non-Horror Crosses: Avengers; The Shadow; Doc Savage
The Story: Kang the Conquorer’s latest scheme threatens the multiverse.
Notes: This story takes place in the Marvel Universe, but at one point, alternate realities are shown, including those of the Shadow, Godzilla, and Doc Savage. Thanks to Army of Darkness vs. Marvel Zombies, we know that indeed the Marvel Universe and Horror Universe are part of the same multiverse.
August 2005--VOODOO TWILIGHT--So many crossovers, and here they are: DRACULA, WHITE ZOMBIE, BLACK COATS, THE TREASURE OF THE VESTE NERE, TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 1: THE MODERN BABYLON "The Last Vendetta", BROTHER VOODOO, CHILD'S PLAY, TALES OF THE ZOMBIE, REVOLT OF THE ZOMBIES, LIVE AND LET DIE, ANGEL HEART, STRANGE CONFLICT: A BLACK MAGIC STORY, THROUGH THE GATES OF THE SILVER KEY, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY, JOHN THUNSTONE, KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, CAPTAIN BLOOD, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, LORNA DOONE, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, JERUSALEM'S LOT, THE LEATHERSTOCKING TALES, CHARMED, TREASURE ISLAND, THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD, THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW, JOHN CARTER, THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH, MOBY DICK, THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM OF NANTUCKET, THE LIVES OF THE MAYFAIR WITCHES, DOC SAVAGE, THE PHANTOM, 20000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, WILD WILD WEST, GONE WITH THE WIND, THE WIZARD OF OZ, THE LONE RANGER, THE REIGATE PUZZLE, THE LOST WORLD, THE RED TRIANGLE, THE SHADOW, AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, THE BODY SNATCHERS, THE WORKS OF STEPHEN KING, FEN-CHU THE ENIGMATIC, CARNACKI, L'ATLANTIDE, and THE EXORCIST.
2007--EVIL WAYS--John D Lindsey Jr: The second book, Evil Ways, picks up a few months after the first, and has Quincy and Libby racing to stop a ritual that will summon Lucifer to the Earthly plane. It contains the following crossovers:
- Cthulhu Mythos - One of the books used for the ritual is Alhazred’s Book of Shadows. While ol’ Abdul clearly existed in this world, characters do argue about whether the Necronomicon is real or not. We’ve mentioned before that the Necronomicon was used in a Supernatural tie-in to summon Lucifer, as well (though the spell could only work after the Seals were busted in season 4).
- Hannibal Lecter - At one point, when talking to an FBI agent, Morris mentions that he knew Will Graham, the hero of Thomas Harris’ 1980 novel Red Dragon, the agent who initially captured Hannibal Lecter. Later, Morris asks if Jack Crawford is still in charge of the FBIs Behavioral Science Unit, only to be told that he died of a heart attack a few years back. Crawford is also from the Hannibal Lecter books; his death is depicted in Hannibal.
- The X-Files - When Morris asks an FBI agent if he is from the X-Files: “The X-Files Unit does not exist, and has never existed,” Fenton said, as if quoting somebody. “It is a myth, perpetuated by rumor and popular culture”. Obviously, given the other X-Files and Millennium references, the FBI is trying to sweep that little embarrassment under the rug.
- The Ghost Whisperer - While discussing a psychic, there’s this quote from Libby Chastain: “I would have thought he was just some hustler, like that Ghost Whisperer clown.
- The Dresden Files –Quincy decides to contact an old friend, Chicago’s resident wizard. Morris and Chastain actually go to McAnally's, a pub that serves as neutral ground for Chicago's secret magical community in the Dresden books, where the owner, Mac, gives them a letter from Harry (referred to as "Harry the Wizard") explaining that he had to miss their appointment because he was called away on Council business (the Council being the White Council of wizards). This was done with the express permission of Jim Butcher, according to the Acknowledgements page; Butcher himself wrote the intro to the first book.
- Kolchack: The Night Stalker – In an early chapter, Quincy breaks into the estate of a powerful Satanist named Janos Skorzeny. The name is also used by the first vampire Carl Kolchak ever fought, and by a werewolf (duh!) in the short-lived ‘80s series Werewolf. More explicitly, one of Quincy's other contacts in Chicago is a reporter named Carl, who keeps an eye on the supernatural goings on in the city, though his boss, Tony, keeps trying to send him off to cover flower shows. So, either Carl Kolchak (and Tony Vincenzo) got immortality treatment at some point, or we're dealing with descendents. Or a time loop or something crazier.
- Millennium - The characters visit a psychic sensitive named Frank, who runs the Ourobouros Bar and Grill in Cleveland. Frank has a daughter, Jordan, now in college, and at one point says: “I used to work with some people, about ten years ago, who were worried that the turn of the millennium was going to cause all the supernatural shit to hit the fan. You may have noticed that it didn't, and I like to think our group had something to do with that, before the whole organization went to shit.” Frank is Frank Black. He and another character even exchange “This is who we are”s.
- The Usual Suspects - An FBI agent discussing their suspect says, “Fella's like Keyser fucking Soze”, to which his partner replies, "Yeah, and like Soze, there's no official evidence to connect him to anything illegal."
- The Shadow – One of the characters is a woman named Hannah Widmark, whose husband and children were killed by Satanists, and who now serves as sort of a supernatural bounty hunter, killing vampires, Satanists, and dark wizards for a fee. At one point, she thinks of one of her mentors, “a shadowy, enigmatic man named Cranston”, who taught her how to fire a pair of Colt .45s simultaneously and hit her targets every time, and who once said of them, with “that weird laugh of his: “The weed of Satan bears bitter fruit, Hannah. And these are your weed-cutters.” Hannah Widmark was trained by The Shadow, still using his Lamont Cranston identity, or possibly that of a descendent. (Note that I neglected to include the Shadow crossover when I included Evil Ways in the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia. I will rectify this with HORROR CROSSOVER ENCYCLOPEDIA VOLUME II.)
2009--WAREHOUSE 13--Season Two; Episode Two: "Mild Mannered"
During an establishing shot in the Warehouse, Thor's Hammer, the Penguin's
Umbrella, Green Arrow's bow, and Wonder Woman's magic lasso can be seen.
Since this episode was entirely based around the idea of superheroes in the real
world, the identification of the artifacts is assured. This is not an issue for the Penguin or Green Arrow, technology changes and surely older versions of their signature gadgets would end up in the warehouse; but we must ask ourselves, how did Thor’s Hammer and Wonder Woman’s lasso arrive here?
This episode also features Rasputin's prayer robe, an artifact that allows the
wearer to come back to life after his/her death. This may explain how Rasputin
survived his battle with The Shadow, to assist the Nazis in raising demons.
During an establishing shot in the Warehouse, Thor's Hammer, the Penguin's
Umbrella, Green Arrow's bow, and Wonder Woman's magic lasso can be seen.
Since this episode was entirely based around the idea of superheroes in the real
world, the identification of the artifacts is assured. This is not an issue for the Penguin or Green Arrow, technology changes and surely older versions of their signature gadgets would end up in the warehouse; but we must ask ourselves, how did Thor’s Hammer and Wonder Woman’s lasso arrive here?
This episode also features Rasputin's prayer robe, an artifact that allows the
wearer to come back to life after his/her death. This may explain how Rasputin
survived his battle with The Shadow, to assist the Nazis in raising demons.
August 2010~Psych: A Fatal Frame of Mind, by William Rabkin
While racing the Illuminati to find Excalibur, “psychic” detective Shawn Spencer and Burton “hairy jujube” Guster meet the apparent grandson of Flaxman Low. Shawn also has no idea who Lamont Cranston is. When captured by the Illuminati, Shawn searches for anything that could serve as a disguise. During the search, this conversation ensues.
"Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts." Shawn said.
"What?" Gus said.
"Look around, Do you see anything that looks like a giant bat costume?"
If Gus had been able to find a giant bat, he would have hit Shawn over the head with it. "That's not helping."
"Ask the citizens of Gotham City, I think you'll find they disagree." (233)
Given the crossovers with Flaxman Low and The Shadow, it seems rational to take this to mean Gotham City is a very real place.
2371--STAR TREK: VOYAGER--"The 37s"--The Voyager crew discovers Amelia Earhart in cryostasis in the Delta Zone. Apparently she was abducted. However, it's possible that this is a duplicate created during the transportation process. There have been several different explanations discovered in the TVCU for what happened to her. Note that INDIANA JONES, THE SHADOW, and DOC DARE also met Earhart.
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