A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1897 — all 16 pages of painted-cover fiction magazines that launched science fiction, horror, and hardboiled crime, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.

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A complete issue · 16 pages · 1897

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1036

1897 · Free to read

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About this issue

This 1897 Beadle and Adams serialized detective story by Robert Randolph Inman follows outlaw "Devil Duval" and his criminal gang, "Devil's Picked Dozen," terrorizing the mining camp of Paradise Pocket. The narrative opens with Devil Duval murdering an antagonist in a canyon knife-fight, beheading his victim, and depositing the severed head in the town square—a grim warning signed with the victim's name, "Dick Darrel." When citizens discover the head resting in a silk hat, accompanied by a threatening note, the camp descends into alarm, particularly when they recall Devil Duval's recent violent raid. Hard-head Hugh, an early-rising prospector, leads townspeople in investigating the gruesome discovery. The story proceeds to introduce "Hikey Hen," a Paradise Pocket resident who recently witnessed related events at the neighboring camp of Burnt Match, becoming a key witness and informant about the outlaw's activities and motivations.

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