Originally Published In Issue 32
Reprinted In Issue 91
First published back in April of 1972, Issue 32 of the ‘Pocket Chiller Library’ comic series was titled ‘The Monster Maker’. The comic was later reprinted under the alternative title ‘Reign Of The Best Man’ within Issue 91.
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).
It’s 1880 and the tramp, Jacques Arnauld, has been plucked off the streets of Paris by a wealthy man who wishes to provide the homeless man with a hot meal and temporary shelter.
This apparent do-gooder is Pierre Lebrun. A man with reasonable wealth, who’s managed to claw his life back after his career in biology was cut short by accusations of ill intent towards a young woman.
In fact, Lebrun felt society had prevented him from becoming the world-famous biologist he could have been. And so, Lebrun became something else. He became a monster maker who would pick up tramps and fugitives from the streets of Paris and inject them with a concoction he’d formulated, turning the tramps into monsters. After which Lebrun sold the beastly abominations onto circuses all over the world.
It was a devious ploy, but with Jacques Arnauld, the plan backfires. In a scuffle between the two men, Lebrun himself is injected with the strange formula. In a matter of seconds his body and physical appearance starts to mutate. Lebrun is becoming one of his own creations, one of his own beastly monsters.
And before the night is out, warnings are raised of a wild animal loose across the streets of Paris…
DLS Review:
This is a fun one. It’s a sort of vague reimagining of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ (1831), only with the Quasimodo character as the antagonist of the piece, and not some tragically misunderstood monster.
For the main part of the story, we have the beast that Lebrun’s become skulking through the shadows of Paris and lurking within the stinking sewers below. In fact, whilst hiding in these sewers, Lebrun becomes accepted by the giant sewer rats as one of their own. Now we have the monster that Lebrun’s become seemingly commanding an army of scurrying grey rats. Oh, the wacky horror joy of it all!
Of course, the police are quick to jump into action. The manhunt, or should I say man-beast hunt, is led by the suave and charismatic Anton St under the command of the Prefect of Police. However, its Anton’s fiancée, the eloquent and divine Louise who ultimately steals the man-beasts attention.
The end result is a classic damsel in distress plot, with Lebrun running off with poor Louise after the poor girl faints at the sight of the ghastly beast! But the wacky horror doesn’t end there. Lebrun has further devious plans up his monstrous sleeve! Along with the other beasts he previously created from Paris’s hobo community and his army of rats, Lebrun now plans to take over Paris. And Louise would stay by his side, within the sewers, whilst this devious plot came to fruition. It’s a plot worthy of Oscars!
In fact, the plot and resulting storyline are absolutely top-notch PCL stuff. A blend of a classic story, reimagined and turned into a wildly over-the-top comic. The only thing letting the story down in some way is the somewhat mild and uninspired artwork which accompanies it. Lebrun basically looks like a slightly hairy guy with a couple of elongated canines. That’s it. So, where we could have had a truly ghastly beast stalking the streets of Paris, with his army of rats trailing behind him in his wake, instead with have a slightly hairy pied piper hunting through the Parisian bins!
Nevertheless, it’s still a quality read and one packed with enough crazy twists and turns to keep you fully enthralled.
The comic book runs for a total of 64 pages.
© DLS Reviews
