A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1887 — 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 · 1887

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 544

1887 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 544 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 544 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 544 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

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Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 544 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This issue presents the opening of a Western dime novel by Edward L. Wheeler, author of the "Deadwood Dick" series. "Cronger the Locator: A Tale of Sockdolager City" begins with an introduction to the Nevada mining town, which has posted notices forbidding "dudes" in plug hats and formal shirts—a policy enforced by mining-camp residents. Three notable arrivals at the Sandy Bar Hotel are introduced: Uncle Si Sloat, a Vermont farmer seeking detective assistance; Valentine Vidocq, a government detective (secretly Deadwood Dick, Jr.); and Hero Hicks, a repulsive four-foot dwarf. Vidocq gains local favor by defending a child flower-seller named Fern from Hicks's violence, defeating the dwarf in combat. The narrative then shifts as Sloat prepares to recount a mysterious case to Vidocq under the moonlight, establishing the story's central mystery.

Browse this issue page by page

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