Comic book Memories: John Byrne comic book(s) Nightmare and Psycho and the toothache from hell!

In 1970 a new series of comic magazines created by publishers Sol Brodsky and Herschel Waldam appeared in our spinner racks. These new comics from the company that took its name (Skywald) from BrodSKY and WALDam’s surnames produced the iconic horror magazine titles Nightmare, Scream, Psycho and Hell Rider until its demise in 1975. To be honest these magazine went pretty much unknown to myself until I started secondary school in mid-1971 where they seemed to be exceptionally popular with the “big kids” in 4th - 5th year (15 – 17 years old) who I would see reading them at break times. However it wasn’t until December 1972 when visiting my then favourite newsagents (“Johnny’s”) that I saw and purchased my fist Skywald magazine, the Psycho 1972 annual little knowing the pain and horror this comic mag would inflict on my memory.

The reason that the Psycho 1972 annual holds such “painful” memories to myself is that on 23 December 1972 (a few days after I purchased the book) I was eating the contents of a Cadburys selection box given to me as part of an early Christmas present by a friend when I bit into a chocolate bar and instantaneously experienced the worst toothache of my entire life. Now I have to admit I was scared (I mean really scared) of the dentist back then so I hid the fact I had toothache from my mum and dad and went to bed early. But the toothache didn’t subside so I was unable to sleep for the entire night as I was I such pain. All I had to hand was a couple of paracetamol and the Psycho 1972 annual which I tried to read in order to take my mind off the pain and that pain didn’t subside until around mid-afternoon on the 24 December. Fast forward to 2010 and on a visit to a Glasgow market stall that sold old comics I spied that Psycho annual. As soon as I saw that cover my hand subconsciously went to my mouth as if I was reliving that terrible toothache hell. I didn't purchase that Psycho annual as that magazine will forever be linked to that horrible time, yes for me it is a "cursed" comic book. Nostallgia has its place but some memories are best forgotten.

Skywald had a pretty impressive list of creators that worked on their various titles throughout its relatively short lifetime including Gerry Conway, Len Wein, Rich Buckler, Bill Everett, Pablo Marcos, Bruce Jones and Tom Sutton. It also featured the first professional work of future comic book superstar John Byrne who drew the 2 page tale below written by al Hewson from Nightmare issue 20.