Indy in Wold Newton Universe Stories

Plaristes

New member
Maybe I'm the last to know about this, but I recently discovered two previously unknown (to me, at least) short stories in which Indy or his father is a main character. Both of these are Wold Newton stories. For those who don't know (more info here and here), the Wold Newton Universe is a creation of science fiction author Philip Jose Farmer and others who have followed in his wake in which a huge number of fictional characters inhabit the same universe (think The League of Extraordinary Gentleman on an even bigger scale; the WNU was apparently an influence on Alan Moore when he developed the League). Some of these authors have incorporated Indy and his supporting cast as inhabitants of the WNU.

The stories can be found in a series of Wold Newton anthologies titled Tales of the Shadowmen:
Travis Hiltz, "The Treasure of the Ubasti," in Tales of the Shadowmen, vol. 6, Grand Guignol (Encino, CA: Black Coat Press, 2010), 76-89.
Paul Hugli, "Death to the Heretic!" in Tales of the Shadowmen, vol. 7, Femmes Fatales (Encino, CA: Black Coat Press, 2011), 96-115.
Indy is also mentioned in passing in "Grim Days" (vol. 7, 188-195).

"The Treasure of the Ubasti" is set in 1895 and the cast includes Henry Jones, Sr., Mowgli, Sar Dubnotal, and Captain Hood (from Jules Verne).

"Death to the Heretic!" is set in October 1929 and the cast includes Indy, Bruce Wayne (this is the Bruce Wayne from the golden age comics, but from before he became Batman), the Nyctalope, and Hugo Strange.

Now, no doubt these are not canonical Indy stories. However, I don't think they should be considered mere fanfic. After all, they've been professionally published and sold for years now, with no cease and desist orders or threats of lawsuits from LFL. I guess when it comes to Wold Newton style stories, LFL and other copyright holders (for characters like James Bond, Batman, etc.) are willing to let this kind of stuff slide.

Anyway, the stories are somewhat interesting, so I thought I'd point them out to fellow Indy fans. :)
 

IndyBr

Member
Don't know about the rest of us, but I didn't know about this.
Thanks for sharing it, sounds interesting. Dou you intend to read the books?
 

Plaristes

New member
Yes, I read both stories already. I didn't want to post until I'd read them, since they're so oddball that I wanted to have my facts straight first. They're both fun and worth reading. :)
 

Indyfan82

Member
I have read one of Philip Jose Farmer's books before and the Wold Newton universe is quite cool! I didn't know Indiana Jones had been incorporated into it- that's awesome! I will have to track those books down when I get a chance. Thanks for the heads-up about that.:) :cool: :whip:
 

Plaristes

New member
I've learned of another Wold Newton short story that features Indy:

Travis Hiltz, "The Mark of the Red Leech," in Harry Dickson vs. the Spider, ed. Randy Lofficier and Jean-Marc Lofficier (Encino, CA: Black Coat Press, 2014), 144-167.

It's set during WWI while Indy is merely a private, so that would place it between Love's Sweet Song and Trenches of Hell.
 
Top