Originally Published In Issue 57
Reprinted In Issue 116
First published back in May of 1973, Issue 57 of the ‘Pocket Chiller Library’ comic series was titled ‘The Face In The Mirror’. The comic was later reprinted under the same title within Issue 116.
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).
It all started when Carol Grey was just seventeen years old. It’d been All Hallows Eve and she and her friends had decided to play a game. Each girl would take it in turns to go into a darkened room, alone with an apple and a lighted candle. She’d then sit by the candle, eating the apple and looking into a mirror. If the tales were to be believed, the girl’s future husband would then appear in the mirror.
Carol had gone first. However, the game was cut short after she was found passed out on the floor. Carol had suffered a horrific shock. When she undertook the playful ritual, a ghastly rotten face had appeared in the mirror. It would prove to be the last time the girl would ever play such a game.
Five years later and twenty-two-year-old Carol had recently met Frank Lawson at a dinner party, whereupon the couple had fallen in love with each other. That very summer they’d married.
The newlyweds had chosen to spend their honeymoon at Frank’s family home – Greely Manor. However, their time together won’t be the peaceful and romantic time Carol had hoped for. In fact, there was something worryingly strange going on at the house.
Carol had become convinced that Frank and the batty old housekeeper – Alice – were hiding something from her. Furthermore, there appeared to be someone else staying within the house. Someone they didn’t want Carol to know about, who was hiding out along the forbidden west wing. Someone who was somehow linked to the legend of Ralph Lawson – an ancestor of Frank’s who’d supposedly discovered the elixir of life. An apothecary who’d unlocked the secret to perpetual life!...
DLS Review:
Oh, this one’s pure PCL pulpy comic goodness! A wonderfully elaborate story involving the crazy legend of an apothecary, the promise of immortality, and the mysterious ancestry behind the husband within a newlywed couple.
Okay, so that sentence alone sounds laden with spoilers! Enough that you’ll be able predict where this story is likely going! However, that’s just the beginning, just the catalyst for the wonderfully elaborate horror shenanigans to follow the starting position of the PCL story.
In true PCL fashion, our heroin of the piece – the eloquent Carol Grey – just sort of flounders around the place, not really sure what’s going on, and needing reassurance from her man at every juncture. Of course, she’s prone to a spot of fainting too, which let’s be honest, is par of the course for a lass appearing in a PCL.
Frank Lawson on the other hand, is the polar opposite of his dear wife. He’s sly, cunning and a dab hand at spouting some quickfire lies to cover his arse. He’s also got one heck of a temper on him! The mere mention that his (ahem) great ancestor, Ralph Lawson, was a bit of a monster and he’s flying into a throat-throttling rage!
So, if you thought you’d be trudging through a simple haunted mirror horror, well, you’ve seriously underestimated the wild horror in store for you with this one! This grisly little tale offers up zombie-style immortals, a pissed off psycho-hubby, and a ‘Nekromantik’ (1987) esque final illustration that’s perhaps one of the greatest concluding pages to a PCL.
So yeah, if the comic’s title ‘The Face In The Mirror’ conjured up some whimsical fairytale-style mild horror, think again. This one’s a beauty! Whacky as fuck, delightfully far-fetched characters, and a crazy ending that goes in for a bleak insanity of conclusion. Classic PCL!
The comic book runs for a total of 64 pages.
© DLS Reviews
