A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1905 — 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 · 1905

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1164

1905 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1164 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

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About this issue

The Outlaw's Retreat by Jos. E. Badger, Jr., is a Western action serial appearing in Beadle's Half-Dime. The narrative follows a stagecoach journey through rough prairie terrain, carrying passengers including two young women (May and Eunice Lee), Kent Morgan, a boastful investor named Kershaw, driver Ben Cockles, and Curly (Israel Tostivan), a man with a violent past. When the coach fords Little Wildcat Creek during a storm, it is ambushed by the notorious road agent Black John, who seeks revenge for his fallen associate Monte Pete. Black John, a physically imposing figure described in grotesque terms, demands the coach halt. However, Curly fires from the coach roof, shooting Black John and forcing Cockles to drive on. The fragment ends with this violent confrontation unresolved. The story combines frontier adventure with criminal pursuit, emphasizing gunplay and physical danger.

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Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.