A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1884 — all 16 pages of painted-cover fiction magazines that launched science fiction, horror, and hardboiled crime, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.

Home › Exhibition › Pulp Fiction › Read

A complete issue · 16 pages · 1884

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351

1884 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 5 of 16 — 5 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 6 of 16 — 6 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 7 of 16 — 7 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 8 of 16 — 8 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 9 of 16 — 9 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 10 of 16 — 10 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 12 of 16 — 12 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 13 of 16 — 13 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 14 of 16 — 14 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, Vol. XIV, No. 351 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This issue of Beadle and Adams's weekly dime novel (#351, April 15, 1884) features "The Terrible Vendetta: A Nevada Tale" by Edward L. Wheeler, author of the popular Deadwood Dick series. The story opens in the mining camp of Nowhere on the morning of Deadwood Dick's scheduled execution for crimes as a road-agent and assassin. A local newspaper, The Stuff, announces the hanging as a public spectacle, noting fears that Dick's organized band of allies may attempt a rescue. Governor Snelling and candidate Daniel G. Stafford have arrived in town with Stafford's daughter Estelle and the Governor's secretary. The narrative details the carnival atmosphere surrounding the execution and introduces the comic relief characters Soaker and O'Gall, two chronic drunks seeking free drinks, before shifting to Stafford's concerns about the execution's unseemly public nature and his conversation with the Governor about the matter.

Browse this issue page by page

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