A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1878 — 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 · 1878

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48

1878 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 5 of 16 — 5 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 6 of 16 — 6 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 7 of 16 — 7 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 8 of 16 — 8 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 9 of 16 — 9 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 10 of 16 — 10 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 12 of 16 — 12 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 13 of 16 — 13 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 14 of 16 — 14 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 48 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This serial story is set at Dolores Station on the Pony Express route in Nevada Territory circa twenty years prior. Dick Darling, a neat, disciplined young Pony Express rider, shares the station with Jack Hardin, a rough, tobacco-smoking frontiersman. When Hardin ridicules Darling's refinement, they wager on a marksmanship contest—Darling impressively hits a dollar coin edgewise from distance, winning Hardin's respect. The narrative introduces Chevrette and Levrette, identical half-breed twin sisters (Ute mother, French-Canadian trapper father) skilled in firearms and riding. They arrive to warn that Ute braves Cat's Eye and Crow's Foot pursue them after being refused marriage offers. Both girls have developed romantic interest in the modest Darling, besieging his attention, while numerous Blackfoot and Ute warriors similarly pursue the sisters. The story establishes frontier romance and adventure elements amid tensions with Native American suitors.

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