A complete issue · 400 pages · 1850
The Bronze Statue, or, The Virgin's Kiss
A complete, restored issue of Penny Dreadfuls from 1850 — all 400 pages of cheap serialized Victorian sensation fiction — crime, horror, and lurid melodrama, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.
A complete issue · 400 pages · 1850
This serial opens in July 1435 in Bohemia. A young, aristocratic traveller of about twenty-seven—noble bearing, faultless features, skilled swordsman—is lost near a vast forest while riding to Castle Altendorf. He hears piercing shrieks and discovers three men abducting an unconscious woman. He defeats two assailants in combat and rescues the beautiful Angela, a peasant girl. Carrying her to a nearby cottage, he finds she belongs to the household of Wildon, the Count of Rosenberg's head forest-keeper, and his elderly wife. Angela was attacked while fetching water from a well. The traveller learns the castle lies one league distant. Wildon, grateful for the rescue, hints that the Baron of Altendorf bears a cruel reputation, though he professes ignorance of specific charges. The narrative establishes a mystery surrounding the attack and introduces questions about the Baron's character.
Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.