Originally Published In Issue 61
Reprinted In Issue 120
First published back in July of 1973, Issue 61 of the ‘Pocket Chiller Library’ comic series was titled ‘The Skull’. The comic was later reprinted under the same title within Issue 120.
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 from issue 86 onwards, the publishers started reprinting the earlier stories. Of these reprints, the first 28 reprints (issues 86 – 113) retitled the story. As such, there were only a total of 86 different 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).
DLS Synopsis:
DLS Review:
It was towards the end of the 1880s when Doctor Richard Griffiths was called out late at night into the stormy weather to make an emergency call on a patient. Donald Morgan had called upon the doctor because of, Mary, his desperately sick wife. However, by the time the good doctor arrived at the Morgan’s home, Mary had passed on.
Wracked with grief, Donald flies into a fit of rage, attacking the doctor before throwing an oil lamp at him. The doctor is instantly engulfed in flames, consuming his body in a torturous death.
Panicking at what he’d just done, Donald hacks up the horrifically burnt body of the doctor and throws the dismembered body parts into a nearby river. The muddy riverbed becoming Doctor Griffiths’ tomb.
A year later, the skull has travelled several miles downstream, before drifting out to sea. Then, sometime in the middle of the following century, the skull is hauled out of the water by fishermen, to later be sold on to Dr Ian Byrne who’d noticed the skull in the window of an antique junk shop.
However, unbeknown to the doctor, the skull offers more than just a professional look for Dr Byrne’s surgery. From the moment the skull came into his possession, the doctor’s life would change forever…
DLS Review:
This is an interesting twist on the trope of a haunted object. Here said object is the skull of a murdered doctor that decades later, ends up in the hands of a young aspiring GP. Only the skull has a powerful positive influence on this young doctor. In the space of just a few months, the doctor’s career as a GP has taken off. He’s now exhibiting an abundance of confidence and his skills to diagnose illnesses has put him at the forefront of the medical field.
It’s an interesting change of pace for a PCL, with the horror coming in the first and last quarters of the comic, whilst the rest of the comic simply depicts the good fortunes and blossoming love life of Dr Ian Byrne.
That’s not to say it’s not an interesting and entertaining read throughout. In fact, a good portion of the story’s pull comes from the intrigue of where the story is going to lead us. Where the inevitable horror will come from. The twist in fortune that’s bound to arrive. And so it does my PCL loving friends!
Furthermore, a love interest initially from the Doctor’s beautiful young nurse, Eileen, and then the famous opera singer, Madeleine Blair, only adds to the over-the-top fun of the tale. Byrne has become quite the catch, and the women love him. Of course, that can soon turn into a recipe for disaster.
The illustrative artwork is excellent – with some wonderfully pulpish moments, like they’ve been pulled straight from ‘The Incredible Melting Man’ (1978). Let’s be honest, that’s exactly the sort of stuff we love to see in these PCLs!
The comic book runs for a total of 64 pages.
© DLS Reviews
