A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1879 — 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 · 1879

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 94

1879 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 94 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 94 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 94 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

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Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 94 — page 9 of 16 — 9 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 94 — page 10 of 16 — 10 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 94 — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

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Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 94 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 94 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This 1879 dime novel by T. C. Harbaugh concerns two criminal figures: Timon Moss ("Old Tanglefoot"), a whisky-smuggler transporting contraband from the Missouri to Deadwood in Dakota Territory, whose wagon breaks down in a dangerous valley; and Midnight Jack, the notorious road-agent (highwayman) operating the trails between government stations and the Black Hills. When Moss encounters a boy named Gopher Gid at his damaged wagon, he attempts to murder the witness. Midnight Jack intervenes, announcing himself theatrically from above. The narrative establishes Jack as a skilled, young, handsomely dressed brigand operating the freight routes, while Moss is a gruff, alcoholic smuggler of vile whisky and miscellaneous cargo. The story emphasizes the lawlessness and danger of the frontier setting.

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