A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1894 — 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 · 1894

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 903

1894 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 903 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

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Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 903 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This issue of a pulp magazine features "Billy Blue Blazes, The Dodger of the Docks; or, The Double Detective," by Ben D. Halliday. The adventure begins when Billy, a scrappy young man lounging on West Street near the docks, spots smoke and investigates. He discovers a three-masted schooner ablaze and hears cries from the water. He rescues a Black man named George Washington Calhoun, a woman named Mrs. Rawlins, and her child from drowning. Mrs. Rawlins reveals her brother, Captain Simon Beebe, deliberately set the fire to kill them. She insists Billy keep her survival secret, fearing the captain. Billy agrees and brings them to shelter at the home of Old King Coal, an eccentric coal merchant, where they can dry off and hide.

Browse this issue page by page

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