A complete issue · 16 pages · 1879
Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 104
A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1879 — all 16 pages of painted-cover fiction magazines that launched science fiction, horror, and hardboiled crime, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.
A complete issue · 16 pages · 1879
Edward L. Wheeler's western serial chronicles the machinations surrounding a dying miner's estate in Leadville, Colorado. David Howell, enfeebled and in severe pain, summons a mysterious stranger to his cabin via a veiled woman. The visitor reveals himself as Edward Harris, known as the notorious road-agent Deadwood Dick, supposedly recently lynched. Howell executes a will bequeathing his entire property—the Dead Pine Tract containing fifteen acres, the Howell carbonate mine, cabin, and shed—to Harris, along with guardianship of his young daughter Stella, currently held by his brother. Howell intends to spite his designing relatives by placing everything in Harris's hands. Harris accepts the charge, declaring he will defend the claim and protect the girl, while Howell produces deeds from a tin safe, warning that relatives will fight violently for ownership. The narrative emphasizes coming conflict over the mine's control.
Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.