There are most definitely similarities there, yes. And the tale he (Nyarlathotep) was known as the Black Man was "The Dreams in the Witch House", because he took the appearance of the traditional Black Man of the witch covens (as viewed by the churchly of that time, at any rate). In Lovecraft's words: "a tall, lean man of dead black colouration but without the slightest sign of negroid features"; while the description of him as an itinerant showman is from a letter to Rheinhart Kleiner describing the inspiration for his prose-poem "Nyarlathotep" itself. (Incidentally, there has been a rather strong case made that the inspiration for this figure was none other than Nikola Tesla.)
At any rate, it'll be interesting to keep this aspect in mind when I get around to these and give them my full attention....
Thanks, Hoops....
