A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1895 — 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 · 1895

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930

1895 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 5 of 16 — 5 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 6 of 16 — 6 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 7 of 16 — 7 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 8 of 16 — 8 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 9 of 16 — 9 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 10 of 16 — 10 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 12 of 16 — 12 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 13 of 16 — 13 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 14 of 16 — 14 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 930 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

Rustler Ralph, the Boy Newsboy; or, Nikey's Grand Pig, by J. C. Cowdrick, serialized in this 1895 weekly (Beadle and Adams, Vol. VI, No. 98). Ralph Gowger, a fourteen-year-old New York newsboy living with Susan Gowger, revolts against harsh treatment and declares his independence. The narrative reveals a conspiracy: Gowger receives payments from a gentleman caller, Mr. Titherton, suggesting Ralph is not her biological son and that Titherton has designs on the boy's fate. Ralph, having secretly accumulated savings in a bank account under an assumed name through double-paper sales, withdraws funds and seeks partnership with another newsboy named Jigger. The story combines street life adventure with mystery elements, featuring dialogue in period vernacular and exploring themes of youth autonomy against exploitation.

Browse this issue page by page

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