A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1891 — 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 · 1891

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 714

1891 · Free to read

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About this issue

By William G. Patten, this serial installment from Beadle and Adams (March 1891) concerns Southern emigrants establishing Eden Vale in post-Civil War Colorado. Major Hugh Lakeman leads the settlement, accompanied by his daughter Ethna (accomplished, beautiful eighteen-year-old) and her friend Merry Maggie Renan. After gold is discovered, a mysterious white-bearded prophet appears, warning of the "Mystic League of the San Juan"—a dangerous band threatening the valley. He demonstrates supernatural ability by summoning a massive black bird with animal features. The Spaniard José Costillo, claiming prior encounters with the League, identifies the creature as a vampire-like "Winged Demon." When Costillo reacts with terror, skepticism spreads among settlers, though the prophet's fire begins burning atop a distant mountain crag as promised.

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