Originally Published In Issue 43
Reprinted In Issue 102
First published back in October of 1972, Issue 43 of the ‘Pocket Chiller Library’ comic series was titled ‘The Dead Are Awake And Walking’. The comic was later reprinted under the alternative title ‘Unholy Fiends’ within Issue 102.
During the 1970s the ‘Pocket Chiller Library’ was a pocket-sized mainstream horror comic which ran for a total of 137 issues between 1971 and 1977. Each month, two issues of the comic were published, amounting to a total of twenty-four issues of the comic published each year.
However, it should be noted that issue 83 and then from issue 86 onwards, the publishers started reprinting the earlier stories. Of these reprints, the first 29 reprints (issues 83 and then 86 – 113) retitled the story. As such, there were only ever a total of 84 unique stories within the series, despite there being more titles.
Unfortunately, each issue was undated, making it difficult to be sure of the date for first publication of each issue. However, it is widely understood the comics were monthly publications, with two publications released simultaneously each month, with the original stories running from January 1971. Therefore, the above date of publication is a relatively reasonable assumption.
Additionally, each issue was unfortunately uncredited to either the writer or the comic artist(s).
Sally had reluctantly accepted the invitation to spend a weekend at the Old Grey Stone House. Having recently broken of her engagement with Morgan Barlow, she felt it only right to speak with his mother and explain why. To let the woman know she wouldn’t be going back to Morgan. That she’d found someone else in her new fiancé, John Hudson.
Although, Mrs Barlow had other ideas. It wasn’t just her who Sally needed to speak to. Morgan was there too. And Mrs Barlow knew Morgan wanted her back.
Despite the predicament she’d been forced into, Sally was ready to tell the pair that this was the end of her and Morgan’s relationship together. That she couldn’t be with a man who always went running to his mother whenever they had an argument. That’s not to mention their joint obsession with the occult. It unnerved her. Morgan simply wasn’t the man for her.
However, her confrontation with Morgan wasn’t to be that simple, on account of him being dead. A rotting corpse propped up in an armchair within the Barlow library. The news of Sally’s rejection had pushed him over the edge. He’d taken his own life some weeks ago.
Now Mrs Barlow planned to call upon the dark spirits she’d read about in her many books. She’d bring her son back from death. Bring him back so he could once again be with the woman he loved.
However, despite Mrs Barlow’s obsession with the occult, her satanic ritual has a wider impact than just upon her son. Before their eyes Morgan’s corpse starts moving. His rotting body gets up from the armchair and shambles towards Sally. But elsewhere, the buried dead have also woken. Not just Morgan’s putrefied corpse has come back to life, but the many dead are now awake and walking…
DLS Review:
What a great PCL! Let’s face it, everyone loves a good zombie romp. And this one delivers just that – a solid rotten slice of undead shenanigans utilising satanic rituals as the catalyst for this reanimation of the dead.
At the heart of it we have a broken-hearted man who’s taken his life, and his mad-as-a-hatter mother performs a dark ritual to bring her dead son back. Poor old Sally is of course flung into this madness, so that the rotting corpse of Morgan can be back with her once again.
But that’s just the start of all the zombie mayhem! We’ve got plenty more horror fun to come! After Sally manages to get away from Morgan, along with escaping hordes of the undead who’ve also risen from their respective graves, she’s then thrown back into the madness when her new fiancé, John Hudson, decides to take up a little raising of the dead too. Yeah, that’s right, despite what happened to Sally, he decides to buy all of Mrs Barlows’ old occultist books and give those satanic rituals a go himself!
It's as hilarious and utterly far-fetched as it sounds. And honestly, it’s all the better for it. So, poor Sally’s subjected to even more undead shambling their way into her life again. It’s enough to send the lass bat-shit crazy. But it doesn’t end there. Oh no, this PCL just keeps on delivering the goods. But I won’t ruin the fun and games to come in this comic!
The whole story is all so over-the-top and wacky that you can’t help but grin throughout. There’s all that classic 1970’s PCL stuff we love crammed in there, from ludicrous reactions in the face of the most horrific and mind-boggling situations, to our hapless protagonist being sent utterly stark raving mad and ending up in a psychiatric hospital with no memory of what happened. Yeah, all the wonderful stuff PCLs often throw into their storylines, although here everything but the kitchen sink is crammed into the comic. It’s the very essence of an absolute page-turner.
The illustrative artwork is also some of the best I’ve seen in a PCL. Plenty of detail and attention to the background and all other aspects. But its with the illustrations of the walking dead where the artwork really excels. Shambling, rotting corpses, with huge starring eyes depicted in all their gory glory. Brilliant!
This is definitely one of the better PCLs. It’s crammed full of drama, action, and ludicrously over-the-top zombie horror. The ending is also wonderfully joyless and bleak. Superb!
The comic book runs for a total of 64 pages.
© DLS Reviews
