Guest blogger Jim Keegan follows up on Steve Tompkins’ post on ghostly pirate stories with a look at whether Hollywood has been looting any booty from Howardian treasure chests:

Jim says: Two years ago I read numerous comments on the Internet that pointed out the uncanny similarity between the design of the title character in the 2004 film Van Helsing and illustrations that Gary Gianni had created for the 1998 book The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane.

Was it merely coincidence, or was Hollywood strip-mining Gianni’s REH illustrations for ideas?

Well, Steve Tompkins’ description of Davy Jones as portrayed in the new Walt Disney film rang some bells. On the left is Davy Jones as envisioned by Walt Disney filmmakers for the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Man’s Chest. Next to it, on the right, is Gary Gianni’s design for Davy Jones from his 1997 Corpus Monstrum comic book, “Autopsy in B-Flat.”

Another coincidence? What are the odds?