CROSSOVER CHRONOLOGY 1921 - 1930)
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1921 - The Picaroon, Martin Dale, brother of Jimmie Dale, goes to work as a modern Robin Hood in New York City. His exploits were told by Herman Landon (click here for more information).
May 7, 1921 - Birth of John Armand Drummond-Clayton, son of Korak and Meriem, grandson of Tarzan.
1921 - Lord Peter Wimsey, the second son of the Duke of Denver, solves his first case, The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran,as recorded by Dorothy Sayers. Lord Peter's first recorded case was Whose Body?(1923).
Summer 1921 THE ADVENTURE OF THE HAUNTED LIBRARY
Carnacki, the notable psychic investigator, refers a case to Solar Pons.
Thomas Carnacki, the "ghost finder," is one of the earliest occult detectives, and was created by William Hope Hodgson. This story is by Dr. Lyndon Parker, and edited by August Derleth, published inThe Casebook of Solar Pons (book 4), Pinnacle Books.
1921 - The events of the film The Ghost of Frankenstein (please read Mark Brown's House of Frankenstein and Chuck Loridans' Children of the Night for complete information).
1921 - Sir Joseph Whemple (son of the Whemple seen in Kim Newman's Seven Stars) and his assistant find Imhotep's tomb (The Mummy).
1921 - The case of The Three Hostages by John Buchan, wherein Sir Richard Hannay defeats the plans of Dominick Medina and his mother, the "Blind Spinner." Medina, the son of the second, and late, Professor Moriarty, is killed at the end of this adventure.
August 1921 ESCAPADE
Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle pit their skills against a fiendishly clever murderer.
Novel written by Walter Satterthwait, St. Martin's, 1995. Houdini also worked with Sherlock Holmes on several occasions.1921 - More than a decade of research pays off, as Sherlock Holmes perfects his Royal Jelly bee pollen elixir (see The Adventure of the Notorious Canary Trainer). The mixture not only stops the aging process, but actually reverses it somewhat, thus granting Holmes and Watson, as well as their families and descendants (see Nero Wolfe, et al.), new leases on life. Holmes undoubtedly shares the elixir with his brother Mycroft, long-time head of the British Secret Service, thus explaining British agent James Bond's lengthy career.
February 1922 SEVEN STARS Episode Two: THE MAGICIAN AND THE MATINEE IDOL
Edwin Winthrop and Catriona Kaye are occult detective partners and lovers, who occasionally do contract work for Charles Beauregard, Sr., who now is in charge of the Diogenes Club. The matinee idol of the title is actor John Barrymore, who is in London to shoot location scenes for a Sherlock Holmes film.
Chapter of Seven Stars by Kim Newman. This version of Edwin Winthrop also appears in Newman's The Big Fish; and an alternate universe version of him exists in the Anno Dracula Universe. Though it is implied that Mycroft Holmes has passed on, of course he has not really died; he has merely gone underground in the wake of his brother's discovery of the anti-aging elixir derived from royal jelly bee pollen.
The action picks up again in May 1942 with Seven Stars Episode Three: The Trouble with Barrymore,
1922 YOU'RE A TEXAS RANGER, ALVIN FOG
It is revealed that Company Z was set up on the advice of the Three Just Men.
A Company Z novel by J.T. Edson. Company Z is made up of the grandsons of Dusty Fog, the Ysabel Kid and Mark Counter, (Alvin Fog, Mark Scrapton and Rance Smith respectively) and is an extra-legal company of Texas Rangers. The Three Just Men is a reference to The Four Just Men series by Edgar Wallace. Please read Brad Mengel's The Edson Connection for more information.
1922 THE ADVENTURE OF HILLERMAN HALL, OR, HOW A HERMIT WAS DISTURBED IN HIS RETIREMENT
Sherlock Holmes assists a young and very innocent Miss Jane Marple extricate herself from a spot of trouble.
Short story by Julian Symons, The Great Detectives, Abrams Books, 1981; also in The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Richard Lancelyn Green, editor, Penguin Books, 1985.May-June 1922 - The adventure of Jimgrim and the The Nine Unknown by Talbot Mundy, which follows the exploits of Jimgrim (James Schuyler Grim), Jeff Ramsden, and Chullunder Ghose.
Summer 1922 SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE HOUDINI BIRTHRIGHT, Part One
Holmes and Harry Houdini again work together. Watson's editor, Conan Doyle, also appears.
Novel by Dr. Watson, edited by Val Andrews, Breese Books, 1995. In this account, Watson places the first meeting between Holmes and Houdini in 1900, as he does in The Pandora Plague; Watson must have been mistaken when, writing up his notes for The Adventure of the Ectoplasmic Man, he placed the first meeting in 1910 .1922 - Dr. Jack Griffin, the son of John "Jack" Hawley Griffin (the original Invisible Man, seen in H.G. Wells' novel), uses his father's formula to become The Invisible Man. Sequels are The Invisible Man Returns, The Invisible Woman, Invisible Agent, The Invisible Man's Revenge, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (a cameo appearance), and Abbott And Costello Meet the Invisible Man. For more information, please read , The Invisibles.
1922 LE ROI DE LA NUIT
The Nyctalope flies to Rhea using a spaceship patented by Dr. Cavor.
Dr. Cavor, from H.G. Wells' The First men in the Moon, is a part of the Wold Newton Universe, and thus so is Jean de La Hire's hero, the Nyctalope. Jean-Marc Lofficier has a many details on the Nyctalope here. The Rhea in this story is a natural satellite orbiting the Earth, inhabited by winged creatures, half of whom live on the day side and half of whom live on the night side. The creatures are at war, and the Nyctalope puts a stop to the war. It is possible that Rhea exists in an alternate universe; when the Nyctalope launches his rocket and goes there, he really gets drawn into the alternate universe, much like Carson Napier's trip to Venus/Amtor.
1922 - Dickson McCunn's first adventure, Huntingtower, as related by John Buchan.
1922 ADMISSION OF WEAKNESS
Dr. Anton Zarnak sets up shop at 13 China Alley as a guardian of the world against dark forces.
Short story by Lin Carter. Number 13 sits between Chinatown and the River, in the same locale frequented by Robert E. Howard's detective Steve Harrison. Accounts vary as to whether this is in New York City or San Francisco. For more on Zarnak, please see Matthew Baugh's Occult Detectives in the Wold Newton Universe.October 31, 1922 - Karel (later Carl) Michail Kolchak born in New York City to Janos and Fanny Kolchak.
1922 - Events of The Scarlet Fox.
Early 1923-Late 1924 - Rick O'Connell and company fights against another mummy named Imhotep (The Mummy, 1999).
1923 - First recorded case of The Continental Op, in Dashiell Hammett's story Arson Plus.
February-November 1923 NEVERMORE
When a serial killer commits gruesome murders in New York City , and apparently Harry Houdini and Conan Doyle are the next targets, they team up to stop the murderer. Columnist Damon Runyon also plays a role.
Novel by William Hjortsberg, St. Martin's, 1994. These events, of course, don't involve the "real" Houdini and Doyle of "our" universe, but rather the fictional characters Houdini and Doyle of the Wold Newton Universe.
1923 - The events of the film Dracula and its sequel, Dracula's Daughter, which features Countess Marya Zaleska (for further information, see Chuck Loridans' Children of the Night.The remaining adventures of this particular Dracula "soul clone" are told in The House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Return of the Wolf Man, The Devil's Brood, and The Devil's Night.
1923 THE JUSTICE OF COMPANY Z
Alvin Fog encounters Wilfred Plan.
A Company Z novel by J.T. Edson. Wilfred Plan is a descendant of Uriah Heep, from Charles Dickens' David Copperfield.1923 - After crash-landing near the secret city of Shambala, Kent Allard is gifted with an age-delaying elixir used by the inhabitants of that city.
1923 - Lord Peter Wimsey's the second son of the Duke of Denver solves his first case, Whose Body?, as recorded by Dorothy Sayers.
1923 - Birth of occultist Henri-Laurent de Marigny, son of Étienne-Laurent de Marigny.
July-August 1923 - The Rats in the Walls, as told by H.P. Lovecraft.
August-September 1923 A LETTER OF MARY A young man named Peter who wears a monocle helps Mary Russell Holmes out of a spot. It is also mentioned that Peter is more than acquainted with Holmes and Russell, and is an occasional visitor to their cottage in Sussex.
It makes sense that Sherlock Holmes and his relative, Lord Peter Wimsey, as fellow detectives, would be well-known to each other, as is demonstrated in this novel by Mary Russell Holmes, edited by Laurie R. King, St. Martin's Press, 1997.
Mid September 1923 THE ADVENTURE OF THE SEVEN SISTERS
Solar Pons and his associate Dr. Lyndon Parker cross paths with the evil Dr. Fu Manchu and his Si-Fan organization.
Short story by August Derleth in The Chronicles of Solar Pons (book 2), Pinnacle Books. Places Pons and Parker in the Wold Newton Universe.
1924 - Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte's first recorded case, The Barrakee Mystery, as told by Arthur W. Upfield. Bonaparte is the son of A.J. Raffles; see Brad Mengel's The Incredible Raffles Clan for more information.
April 1924 - First appearance of George Washington Tubbs II. Tubbs met soldier-of-fortune Captain Easy in 1929, and their adventures were chronicled by Roy Crane (click here for more information).
1924 - J.G. Reeder's first case, as documented by Edgar Wallace in Room 13.
1924 - Events of The Pimpernel and Rosemary, by Baroness Orczy, featuring the adventures of Peter Blakeney, the great-great-grandson of Sir Percy Blakeney (The Scarlet Pimpernel).
1924 BEHIND LOCKED AND BOLTED DOOR
Rita Yarborough of Company Z encounters Henry Arthur Milton, The Ringer.
The Ringer is by Edgar Wallace. J.T. Edson suggests that The Ringer was in fact an early member of the "OO" section of the British Secret Service. Story found in More J. T.'s Ladies. Please read Brad Mengel's The Edson Connection for more information.
1925 - Edgar Wallace records the first known adventure of The Ringer in The Gaunt Stranger (U.S. title The Ringer).
1925 - Jules de Grandin's first recorded case, Terror on the Links, by Seabury Quinn.
1925 - The affair of The Abominable Dr. Phibes.
April 1925 PULPTIME
Sherlock Holmes crosses paths with H.P. Lovecraft, Frank Belknap Long, and Harry Houdini in this tale.
Novella written by Frank Belknap Long, Jr., and edited by Peter Cannon, found in Cannon's volume The Lovecraft Papers, Guild America Books.
1925 TARZAN VS. THE MOON MEN
Tarzan and Korak travel to the 24th Century to battle invaders from the Moon.
Published by Dark Horse Comics in Tarzan issues 17-20. Tarzan crosses-over with another E.R. Burroughs creation, the Moon Series, which detailed the history of Earth's battle with the Moon Men from the 20th through the 24th century. The future depicted here is that of Earth's counterpart in an parallel universe: see Alternate Universes.
1925 - The events of John W. Campbell, Jr.'s, Who Goes There?: Clark Savage, Jr., joins an Antarctic expedition as meteorologist and second-in-command (McReady, "a bronze giant of a man"). He and the other members of the expedition must fight for their lives when they discover a Thing (from another world). Savage does not have his M.D. yet (according to Farmer, he got his M.D. in 1926); hence, the 1925 date.
Another member member of the expedition is also under a disguised name, Vance Norris, Norris was actually Nathaniel Roberts, the brother of Long Tom Roberts. His presence on the expedition would have lingerng consequences as seen here.
1925 - Charlie Chan's first case, The House Without a Key, as related by Earl Derr Biggers.
c. 1925 - Birth of Llana of Gathol, daughter of Tara of Helium and Gahan of Gathol, granddaughter of John Carter and Dejah Thoris.
1925 - Birth of "Shrinking" Violet Holmes, daughter of British spymaster Mycroft Holmes.
1925 CODE OF THE WOOSTERS
Bertie Wooster makes reference to Blandings Castle.
P.G. Wodehouse crosses-over two of his series, The Jeeves and Wooster stories, and the Lord Emsworth/Blandings Castle stories. This story takes place some time 1921, after Mussolini has come to power, but before Hitler does (therefore, between 1924 and 1933).
October 1925GHOSTS OF DRACULA
Séance-buster Harry Houdini becomes involved with Count Dracula, who seeks to contact the spirit of his late beloved Lucy Westenra. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes turns down Dr. Abraham van Helsing's plea to help track down a particularly gruesome serial killer in London.
Five-issue comics mini-series by Martin Powell and Seppo Makinen, Eternity Comics, 1991. Please read Chuck Loridans' Children of the Night for the full history of Count Dracula and the Van Helsings in the Wold Newton Universe. Houdini met Holmes, as well as Dr. Watson's literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, on several other occasions.
c. Mid 1920s ALLEYS OF PERIL
Sailor Steve Costigan encounters the White Tigress.
Story by Robert E. Howard. The White Tigress had also encountered John Gorman in 1913, thus linking Sailor Steve Costigan into Wold Newton Universe continuity.
April 1926 THE ADVENTURE OF THE PRAED STREET IRREGULARS
Solar Pons and Fu Manchu meet again.
In The Reminiscences of Solar Pons (book 5), by August Derleth. Confirms Solar Pons and Dr. Parker in the Newtonverse.
1926 - The events of Thorne Smith's novel Topper.
January-February 1927 THE ADVENTURE OF THE CLUBS aka THE TERROR OVER LONDON
Solar Pons' raconteur, Dr. Parker, refers to Pons as the greatest detective ever, other than the "late Sherlock Holmes." Also, the murder of Lord Cantlemere is mentioned.
A Solar Pons novella by Dr. Lyndon Parker, and edited by August Derleth, published in The Final Adventures of Solar Pons, Mycroft and Moran Books, 1998. Parker, of course, is covering for the fact that Pons' relative, Sherlock Holmes, is still alive. Rick Lai points out that, "Lord Cantlemere was the rude overbearing government official in Doyle's The Adventure of the Mazarain Stone (Baring-Gould puts the story in 1903). It could be that the two Cantlemeres are the same person, or that the Lord Cantlemere of the 1920s was the son of the nobleman encountered by Holmes."
1927 - The first case of The Hardy Boys, The Tower Treasure.
1927 - The first case of Richard William Chandos, Blind Corner, as documented by Dornford Yates.
1927 - Publication of Trader Horn, an autobiographical account by African explorer Alfred Aloysius "Trader" Horn. Horn, seventy-three years of age at publication, was in his lifetime an animal collector, gold prospector, Scotland Yard detective, artist, archeologist, and blood-brother of cannibals. A fictionalized film version was released in 1931.
1927 THE CASE OF THE CURIOUSLY COMPETENT CONJUROR
Dr. Anton Zarnak receives a telepathic message from Dr. Phibes, who is resting in his tomb. It is also stated that that Zarnak trained with Spratt at St. Swithen's. There is also a reference to the Orlac case, in which an organ transplant leads to horrible results. A Dr. Zarnak short story by James Ambuehl and Simon Bucher-Jones, in Lin Carter's Anton Zarnak Supernatural Sleuth. Since Zarnak is in the Wold Newton Universe, so is Dr. Phibes. According to Rick Lai, "The first Dr. Phibes film, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, was set in 1925. Mrs. Phibes died during an operation in 1921 (see the year on her coffin in the mausoleum), and Dr. Vesalius reminded Nurse Allen that the operation was four years ago. The second Dr. Phibes movie, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, happens three years later (1928)." Also according to Rick Lai, "Sir Lancelot Spratt taught surgery at St. Swithin's (called "St. Swithens" in the Zarnak story) in Richard Gordon's Doctor in the House series. Spratt would have been too young to have been a teacher at St. Swithin's when Zarnakattended there, and would more likely have been a fellow student."Chuck Loridans points out that the Orlac reference is to The Hands of Orlac (directed by Robert Wiene, 1924, based on the book The Hands of Orlac by Maurice Renard), the story of a classical pianist whose hands are crushed in a train accident. When a scientist replaces Orlac's hands with those of a killer, the results are murderous.
1927 - Silver John is born in Moore County, NC.
Spring 1927 GUNS OF THE DRAGON
Bat Lash, Hans von Hammer, and Biff Bradley go on a mission to save China and get more than they bargained for when they encounter the dinosaurs of Dragon Island. Lash also mentions his acquaitance, the legendary gunfighter Jonah Hex. "Chop-Chop" and Miss Fear, in their pre-Blackhawk days, also make appearances, as do the ninja shapeshifter Major Kung and an immortal villian who is called Vandal Savage in this story.
1998 DC Comics mini-series by Tim Truman, who manages to defuse the ethnic stereotyping inherent in the "Chop-Chop" character. There is already a Wold Newton version of Blackhawk (see the Batman and Captain America crossover, 1945). This adventure integrates the Newtonverse versions of Lash, Von Hammer, Hex, and Kung, as well as Miss Fear, who would go on to many apperances as an ally of the Blackhawks. Von Hammer's descendant, Heinrich Franz, would later meet The Batman. And Biff Bradley's younger brother, Slam, will go on to open his own detective agency and work on an important case with The Batman and Sherlock Holmes. See also Prehistoric Survivors in the Pacific by Mark Brown for more information.Summer 1927 SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE HOUDINI BIRTHRIGHT, Part Two
Although Harry Houdini is believed to have died the previous year, on October 31, 1926, Sherlock Holmes is once again involved in his affairs. In the course of their investigation, Holmes and Watson interview Houdini's friend, Walter B. Gibson. It is unclear why the editor attributed a fictional statement to Gibson, to the effect that Gibson was thinking about creating a character for radio and the pulps called "The Shadow." This statement is clearly fictional since The Shadow is a real person.
Novel by Dr. Watson, edited by Val Andrews, Breese Books, 1995. Gibson, of course, was Kent "The Shadow" Allard's primary biographer and wrote of his exploits under the pen name of Maxwell Grant in The Shadow Magazine from 1931 to 1949.July 1927 THE ADVENTURE OF THE ANCIENT GODS
Sherlock Holmes, visiting Arkham, Massachusetts, again encounters writer H.P. Lovecraft, along with further Cthulhuoid horrors, after being asked to investigate the disappearance of Randolph Carter.
Holmes again encounters the Cthulhu Mythos in this short story by Ralph Vaughan, Gryphon Publications, 1990. Randolph Carter figures in several of Lovecraft's works, including The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Silver Key, and The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. E-texts of all three of these can be seen here.
1927 Events of Edgar Rice Burrough's THE DEPUTY SHERIFF OF COMANCHE COUNTY whose main character is Buck Mason, grand son of Ken Mason
1927-1928 TARZAN AT THE EARTH'S CORE
Tarzan meets Jason Gridley and travels to the inner world of Pellucidar.
In this novel, Burroughs crosses-over two of his own creations, Tarzan and Pellucidar. Date derived from Farmer's Tarzan Alive. (It should be noted here that, although Farmer considered Pellucidar and this novel to be completely fictional in relation to Tarzan, he nevertheless provided a date for this adventure in his chronology.) See also Alternate Universes. The character Jason Gridley is also mentioned in Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series (see next entry).
It should be noted here that, although Philip José Farmer considered Pellucidar and this novel to be completely fictional in relation to Tarzan, he nevertheless provided a date for this adventure in his chronology. Mr. Farmer dismissed Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar as fictional in relation to the "real" Tarzan stories. I think he was mistaken. (It's happened before - see Tarzan Alive where he states that G-8, The Spider and The Shadow are the same person. He retracts this in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life.) I think that Pellucidar is real, although its true nature has not been fully revealed (perhaps it more accurately is a grand series of underground caverns, as depicted in Black as the Pit, From Pole to Pole) and that Tarzan (among others) really did travel there in Tarzan at the Earth's Core.
1928 In his latest book Open Conspiracy H.G. Wells, proposed government by supermen and a new religion based on physics.
1928 A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS
Jason Gridley is in Pellucidar during the time period that this John Carter of Mars novel takes place.
Written by Burroughs. Date derived from Farmer's Tarzan Alive and John Flint Roy's A Guide to Barsoom.
BACK TO THE STONE AGE
Tarzan's expedition of a year ago is mentioned in this Pellucidar novel.
Written by Burroughs. Date derived from Farmer's Tarzan Alive.March-May 1928 - The Dreams in the Witch-House, as chronicled by H.P. Lovecraft.
March 19, 1928 - Birth of secret agent John Drake (Dangerman, Secret Agent, The Prisoner.)
May 1928 - First adventure of mail pilot and daredevil barnstormer Tailspin Tommy Tompkins.
1928 THE MAHAGGA
Tarzan encounters a Mahar from Pellucidar.
This comics story can be found in issue 235 of the DC Comics Tarzan series.
1928 RETURN TO PELLUCIDAR
Tarzan and his son Korak are in Pellucidar.
This comics story starts in issue 238 of the DC Comics Tarzan series and concludes in issue 60 of DC's Tarzan Family.
1928 PIRATES OF VENUS
Carson Napier, "Carson of Venus," departs for Barsoom (Mars), but arrives instead on Amtor (Venus), just after the events of Back to the Stone Age, a Pellucidar novel.
At this point, we can conclude that all of Burroughs' major creations, Tarzan, Pellucidar, John Carter of Mars, and Carson of Venus, all start out in The Wold Newton Universe, although some of the characters who start out in this universe end up in a parallel universe, which I will call the "Burroughs Universe." See also Alternate Universes.
1928 - Simon Templar, aka The Saint, has his first exploit, as recorded by Leslie Charteris in Meet-The Tiger!
1928 CAP FOG, TEXAS RANGER MEET MR J.G. REEDER
THE RETURN OF RAPIDO CLINT AND MR J.G. REEDER
RAPIDO CLINT STRIKES BACKAlvin Fog works with J.G. Reeder and they encounter John Wade, Leopold Moran, and Oliver Rater. Fog and Reeder also meet Albert Henry "Bert the Jump Up" Fredricks. References are made to Albert Campion and Nicholas Ramage.
John Wade, Leopold Moran, and Oliver Rater are from The India Rubber Men, The Clue of the Silver Key and The Orator, respectively, all by Edgar Wallace. Albert Henry "Bert the Jump Up" Fredricks is from Underworld Nights by Charles Raven. Albert Campion is Margery Allingham's detective and Nicholas Ramage is from the Ramage naval series by Dudley Pope.
January – May 1929 TARZAN THE INVINCIBLE
Tarzan returns to Opar.Another Burroughs novel, wherein Tarzan revisits Opar. Date derived from Farmer's Tarzan Alive.
1929THE EYE OF BLACK A'WANG
Malay Collins, the Master Thief of the East, is to "the nimble fingered thieves of Shanghai, of Singapore, of Lahore, and of Kandy as Arsène Lupin to the youth of Europe. He was an ideal, a pattern, a veritable hero of the illicit."
A short story by Murray Leinster (nom de plume for William F. Jenkins) in Short Stories magazine, January 1930. According to another story, The Emerald Buddha, Malay Collins is a Caucasian, apparently orphaned in the East at age eight: "Owning to the stupidity of certain white folk who did not recognize his race as a child, Collins was raised by a benevolent Oriental master thief to be his assistant in the business." The comparison to Lupin, a Wold Newton Family member, brings Collins into the Wold Newton Universe.
1929 THE CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT
Among occultist/adventurer John Kirowan's friends is one named Taverel. This may be Sir Rupert Taverel. There is also a possible connection to the noble Tafaral family who are aided by Solomon Kane. The books Unspeakable Cults by Von Juntz and the dread Necronomicon are mentioned, as are the beings Cthulhu, Yog Sothoth, Tsathoggua and Gol Goroth, as well as a modern cult devoted to Bran Mak Morn.
The Lovecraftian references in this Robert E. Howard story (found in Beyond the Borders, Baen Books, 1996; and Pigeons From Hell, Ace Books, 1979) and the reference to Howard's fantasy hero Bran Mak Morn, place John Kirowan in the Newtonverse. The creatures featured in this tale are the same beings seen in Howard's Worms of the Earth and People of the Dark. The story Taverel Manor, featuring the death of Sir Rupert Taverel, is also by Robert E. Howard. The Solomon Kane story featuring the Tafarals is Moon of Shadows. The spelling of the names Taverel and Tafaral are slightly different, but that is not unusual over several hundred years, and the fact that both the Taverels of "Taverel Manor" and the Tafarals are menaced by survivors of ancient Atlantis makes this possibility too intriguing to ignore. For more on Kirowan, please read Matthew Baugh's Occult Detectives in the Wold Newton Universe.
1929 BLOOD MONEY AND HUMAN BONDAGE
Tarzan returns to Pellucidar.This comics story was published by Marvel Comics in their Tarzan series, issues 15 through 24.
1929 - Kent Allard creates the identity of The Shadow and begins gathering agents worldwide in his quest against evil.
1929 - Sam Spade's most famous case, The Maltese Falcon, as related by Dashiell Hammett. Spade is the grandson of Ned Land (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) and grand nephew of Johnny Shawnessy (Raintree County).
June 8-9, 1929 ANIMAL CRACKERS
After the theft of a valuable painting at the Rittenhouse mansion, Arabella Rittenhouse says to her boyfriend, John Parker, "Just think, whoever took it was right in the room with us! Just like Raffles!" Later on, an Italian man currently using the alias Emanuel Ravelli tells another mustachioed man using the name Capt. Geoffrey T. Spaulding, "In-a case like-a this that's-a so mysterious, you gotta get-a the clues. You gotta use-a the Sherlock-a Holmes-a method."
The second film featuring The Marx Brothers, 1930. These comments could be interpreted as referring to the fictional characters Raffles and Holmes. However, it has been shown that the man with the mustache, the Italian, and their companion, the innocent mute, exist in the Newtonverse, as demonstrated by Matthew Baugh in The Shang Chi Chronology. Therefore, the references must be to the real Wold Newton Family members Holmes and Raffles. For more on Spaulding and his cohorts, please read Freedonia.
1929 - Detective Ellery Queen's first case, The Roman Hat Mystery, written by Ellery Queen.
1929 - In Gotham City, The Shadow captures a group of gunmen and saves the lives of Thomas Wayne and his son Bruce (The Night of the Shadow).
1929 AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS
The leader of the Miskatonic University expedition to Antarctica, Professor Dyer, and Professor William Harper "Johnny" Littlejohn, one of Doc Savage's five assistants, are probably one and the same person.
This is a novel by H.P. Lovecraft, originally published in the 1930s; my edition is published by Del Rey Books, 1985. It is Farmer's hypothesis that the expedition's leader was Johnny, which would bring Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos into the Wold Newton Universe. Date derived from Farmer's Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life.
1929 - Birth of Spencer Holmes (son of Nero Wolfe?). Date is conjecture.
November 1929 - The Shadow's first recorded case (The Living Shadow.)
1929 - Murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Their son, Bruce, is spared, and swears on the spirits of his parents to avenge their deaths by spending the rest of his life warring on all criminals.
December 31, 1929-January 2, 1930 THE DRUMS OF DAMBALLAH
Jules de Grandin mentions “the apes of Tarzan” in this adventure.
Story by Seabury Quinn in Weird Tales, March 1930. The reference is in a context that suggests that the French occultist was co-existent with Edgar Rice Burroughs’ jungle adventurer. De Grandin probably heard rumors of the mangani, the apes that raised Tarzan, during his 1905-1907 experiences in Africa.
1930 - Nero Wolfe buys an old brownstone on West 35th Street in New York City, hires his nephew Archie Goodwin as his right-hand-man, and begins his career as a private detective.
1930 - Miss Marple's first case, Murder at the Vicarage, by Agatha Christie.
March 10, 1930 DIG ME NO GRAVE
The dying John Grimlan mentions several Lovecraftian deities, including Yog Sathoth and Kathulos.
This John Kirowan story by Robert E. Howard can be found in Beyond the Borders, Baen Books, 1996; in Pigeons From Hell, Ace Books, 1979; and in Cthulhu: The Mythos and Kindred Horrors, Baen Books, 1987. The deities mentioned are probably only variant spellings of Yog Sothoth and Cthulhu, but it is interesting to note that the villain of Howard's story Skull-Face is a priest of ancient Atlantis named Kathulos. Possibly this is the Atlantean version of the Great Old One's name and the priest adopted the name of his deity, much as Zhar-nak did. Grimlan is also mentioned in Lin Carter's story Dope War of the Black Tong, connecting John Kirowan with Anton Zarnak and Steve Harrison. Please read Matthew Baugh's Occult Detectives in the Wold Newton Universe.
1930 - The events of Talbot Mundy's Jimgrim and the King of the World, featuring James Schuyler Grim, Jeff Ramsden, and Chullunder Ghose, and wherein Grim perishes defeating the evil mastermind Dorje.
1930 PEOPLE OF THE DARK
The Black Stone appears again in this tale, which also features the Children of the Night. Intriguingly, the narrator, John O'Brien, after a knock on the head, believes himself to be an individual called Conan of the reavers. When O'Brien comes to, he believes he is the reincarnation of this Conan. Substantiating his belief, his companion Eleanor Bland seems to share his experience.
Robert E. Howard story, reprinted in Cthulhu: The Mythos and Kindred Horrors, Baen Books, 1987; and in Pigeons From Hell, Ace Books, 1979.
The Black Stone is the same seen which sits on the altar of stones is the same as that in Worms of the Earth. The creatures featured in this tale are the same beings seen in Howard's The Children of the Night and Worms of the Earth. Regarding Conan of the reavers, O'Brien says this occurred 3000 years ago, which is not Conan the Barbarian's time. However, this could be hyperbole; how would O'Brien know how far back in time this experience was?
Matthew Baugh writes: I believe that People of the Dark was actually written before any of the Conan stories. I believe that the hero of that story (who mentions having lived in the American southwest) was a friend of Howard's. He told him about his experience, which actually revolved around the Cimmerian's participation in the raid on the outpost of Venarium when he was only 17 or 18 years old.
Howard loved the story, but doubted people would accept the "age undreamt of by man" angle. He fictionalized it as having taken place in the bronze-age British Isles. He only had to make minor changes because these were the same countries in the Hyborian age, they just hadn't broken loose from the mainland yet. Also, the Cimmerians and the people of Venarium were, according to Howard, the ancestors of the Irish Celt and the Britons. Howard's friend continued to remember more and more about his past life, and to resemble Conan more and more strongly. He contacted Howard often to tell him new stories of his old life he remembered. This is how Howard came up with such detailed information about the life of a man dead for 12,000 years.
1930 THE SILVER HAIR CRIME
"Gaston Dupont," France's greatest thief, returns to America for another bout with Nick Carter.
By "Nick Carter," in New Magnet Library number 1282. Nick Carter expert Jess Nevins notes that "Dupont" is obviously a pseudonym for Arsène Lupin.
1930 - Nancy Drew's first adventure, The Secret of the Old Clock.
September 1930 THE PLAGUE COURT MURDERS
Sir Henry Merrivale's first recorded case, in which it is revealed that Sir Henry ("HM") is a member of the Diogenes Club. HM was also the former head of British Counter Espionage, where his nickname was Mycroft.
This case was recorded by John Dickson Carr writing as Carter Dickson. These links to the Sherlock Holmes canon place HM in the Newtonverse. HM also appeared in Farmer's The Peerless Peer, as an assistant to Mycroft Holmes.
October 1930 THE ADVENTURE OF THE SIX SILVER SPIDERS
Solar Pons investigates a case with several Cthulhu references, including Abdul Al Hazred's Necronomicon and Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts.
Surely Solar Pons was dissembling when he dismissed these references as fictional. After all, he did count among the many monographs he authored, "An Inquiry Into the Nan-Matal Ruins of Ponape" and "An Examination of the Cthulhu Cult and Others." This short story by August Derleth is in the third Pons volume, The Memoirs of Solar Pons. Derleth, of course, was a major contributor to Lovecraft's universe and coined the phrase "Cthulhu Mythos."
1930's Out near the galactic rim, The Hive/Colonist Alliances is all but wiped out by an Aesir lead assault force. The Hive/Colonists Alliance is reduced to a few outposts that escaped detection. They are forced to use discreet subversion to rebuild their population base
1930'sThe Tocs and Ogs physical stability problems increased. Their physical forms start aging, the shapeshifting became problematic. They at times shifted shape when they didn't wish to and at other times lost the ability to shift shape at all. Their first solution to this was to get killed and thus be sent back into an energy state where they could gather energy to form a new body. However it was soon discovered that in most cases they had to reform into the shape they had most previously taken. One theory that gained great credence among both species is that all the time spent in the Phantom Zone made them subject to entrophic decay. The only way to end the decay was to return to the Phantom Zone and have a Mover recharge them.
1930s THE ADVENTURE OF THE DEFEATED DOCTOR
Solar Pons and Fu Manchu again go head-to-head.
Short story found in the ninth volume, The Further Adventures of Solar Pons, by Basil Copper. The 1930s date is speculative.
1930s SCREAM FOR JEEVES
Bertie Wooster and his manservant Jeeves have several close encounters with a variety of Cthulhuoid horrors.
This slim volume contains three short stories: Cats, Rats and Bertie Wooster, Something Foetid, and The Rummy Affair of Young Charlie, and is found in Peter Cannon's volume The Lovecraft Papers. Jeeves and Wooster are the characters in a humorous series of books by P.G. Wodehouse, and are included in The Wold Newton Universe by virtue of this Cthulhu connection.
Early 1930s THE ADVENTURE OF THE SNITCH IN TIME
Solar Pons receives a visitor from an alternate universe. Pons refers to the events at Reichenbach Falls (i.e., the Holmes-Moriarty confrontation of 1891) and makes it clear that he would like to take on Moriarty. Pons also refers his client to legal counsel, an attorney practicing in Los Angeles, California, by the name of Perry Mason.
It is unclear whether the Moriarty referred to in this story is the first Professor (who survived Reichenbach), the second Professor who took his place (see The Second War of the Worlds, 1904), or a completely different Moriarty from an alternate universe. In any event, this story by August Derleth and Mack Reynolds brings Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason into the Wold Newton Universe. The short story can be found in The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sebastian Wolfe, ed., Citadel Press, 1991.
REVISED WOLD NEWTON CHRONOLOGY
Prehistory-858, 858-1799, 1800-1849,
1850-1890 1891-1910, 1911-1920,
1921-1930, 1931-1940, 1941-1970,
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© 1997-2002 by the author, Win Eckert. Additions in brown text© 2000-2002 by Dennis E. Power