Thorpe & Porter and Top Sellers were both imprints of publisher Williams. Between 1971 and 1977, Top Sellers published Pocket Chiller Library, running to 137 issues, but there are plenty of questions circulating online about the title’s origins and exactly what it featured – reprint European strips or commissioned material from British creators?
• Read our main feature about Pocket Chiller Library here to find out more
• Checklists: Issues 1 – 49 | Issues 50 – 100 | Issues 101 – 137
Please note: From Issue 86, onwards, the entire remaining run of issues were reprints, so all issues after that are duplicates, some with different covers, and different titles, but the same internal stories. Some of these are even reprints of comics from the two earlier series, Nightmare Suspense Library and Tales of Terror Picture Library – which leads to the situation of one story (“Waxworks/ Terror in Wax) actually being published three times. Again, the story titles were often changed.
Checklist Issues 51 – 100
Additional information welcome!
51 – Epitaph to a Madman
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later 51 reprinted as No. 110, “The Fiend”
52 -The Monkey
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later 52 reprinted as No. 111, “Superhuman”
53 – The Devil Worshippers
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 112, “Everlasting Night”
The cover of “The Devil Worshippers” is almost certainly “inspired by” Silver Surfer #3, specifically an image from the first appearance of Mephisto, art by John Buscema.
54 – Shadow on the Mind
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 113, “Mangled Mind”
55 – The Strangler
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later 55 reprinted as No. 114, “The Strangler”
56 – The Rope
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Ian Gibson
Later 56 reprinted as No. 115, “The Rope”
57 – The Face in the Mirror
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 116, “The Face in the Mirror”
58 – Suffer a Witch to Live
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 117, “Suffer a Witch to Live”
59 – Shadows in the Night
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 118, “Shadows of the Night”
60 – The Bat
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Ian Gibson
Later reprinted as No. 119, “The Bat”
61 – The Skull
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later 61 reprinted as No. 120, “The Skull”
62 – Face in the Fog
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 121, “Face in the Fog”
63 – The Hangman
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 122, “The Hangman”
64 – Night of the Cactus
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 123, “The Night of the Cactus”
65 – Unseen Master
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 124, “Unseen Master”
66 – Dark Vengeance
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 125, “Dark Vengeance”
67 – Trip Fantastic
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later 67 reprinted as No. 126, “Trip Fantastic”
68 – The Spider
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 127, “The Spider”
69 – Born to Be Evil
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 128, “Born to Be Evil”
70 – The Hands of Death
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 129, “The Hands of Death”
71 – Return from the Dead
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 130, “Return from the Dead”
72 – The Kolby Curse
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Ian Gibson
Later reprinted as No. 131, “The Kolby Curse”
73 – The Evil Comes From Out There
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 132, “The Evil Comes From Out There”
74 – Fear of Night
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 133, “Fear of Night”
75 – Exterminate
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later 75 reprinted as No. 134, “Exterminate”
76 – Tomb of the Vampire
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Later reprinted as No. 135, “Tomb of the Vampire”
77 – Dead Man’s Eyes
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
78 – Immortal Armour
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
79 – The Woman in the Glass Coffin
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
80 – The Curse of Suicide
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
81 – Execution of Sinners
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
82 – The Devil’s Servant
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
83 – Terror in Wax
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
A reprint of No. 21, “Images of Death”
The cover painting for issue 83 is modelled on actress Pamela Franklin in The Legend of Hell House
84 – Brutes of Hell
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
85 – When Cats Purr
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Pocket Chiller Library went fully reprint from Issue 86 onwards (our thanks to reader Adrian Griffiths for this information)
86 – Harridan of Doom
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Previously presented as No. 27 – “The Secret in the Cellar”
87 – Gibbet of the Damned
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Previously presented as No. 28, “The Hunchback”
88 – Blade of Death
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
A reprint of No. 29, “Obsession”
89 – Creature of the Night
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
A reprint of No. 30, “Werewolf”
90 – Blood of Venom
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
A reprint of No. 31, “The Vampire of Loban”
91 – Reign of the Beast Men
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Originally published in No. 32, “The Monster Maker”
92 – Evil Waters
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
First published in No. 33, “The Lake”
93 – The Brides of Death
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
First published as No. 34, also as “The Brides of Death”
94 – Half Human
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Reprint of No. 35, “The Mutant”
Interior strip scans with thanks to David McDonald of Hibernia Comics
95 – Decayed Dead
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
First published in No. 36 as “The Dead Don’t Always Sleep”
96 – Man Beast
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
First published as No. 37, “The Cry of the Wolfman”
The cover painting for issue 96 is modelled on Lon Chaney as the Wolfman
97 Insane With Terror
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Reprint of No. 38, “The Children of the Damned”
98 – Condemned Woman
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
First published as No. 39, “Daughter of Darkness”
99 – The Curse of Zilhaus
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
First published as No. 40, “Fear Has a Thousand Eyes”
100 – Powers of Darkness
Cover: Information Welcome
Interior Art: Information Welcome
Reprint of No. 41, “Nightmare Curse”
• Pocket Chiller Library – Main Feature
• Checklists: Issues 1 – 49 | Issues 50 – 100 | Issues 101 – 137
Note that from Issue 86 onwards, the title went reprint
Additional information welcome! This feature and listing last updated 17th December 2021
For those of you trying to puzzle out the history of the many British pocket library titles and publishers, Steve Holland notes that just to add to the confusion, a lot of pocket libraries were packaged abroad and sold around Europe (France, Germany, Spain, etc.), so there is still a lot of questions about whether some pocket libraries were reprints – or were actually published here in the UK first!
WEB LINKS
• Grand Comics Database – Pocket Chiller Library Listing and Covers
• Nightmare Suspense Picture Library – Listing and Covers
With thanks to Dave Gibbons, Adrian Griffiths, Steve Holland, Rik Hoskin, Chris O’Leary, Douglas Noble, the much-missed Colin Noble, Steve Pini, David Roach, the indispensable Richard Sheaf, Dez Skinn and Jon Smit – and thanks also to the WordPictureWord Group for sending me down this rabbit hole!
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, Comics, Creating Comics
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