A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1882 — all 32 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 · 32 pages · 1882

Beadle's Dime Library No. 170

1882 · Free to read

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About this issue

This issue of Beadle & Adams' pulp magazine (Vol. XIV, No. 170, January 25, 1882) features the serialized western story "Sweet William, the Trapper Detective; or, The Chief of the Crimson Clan" by Joseph E. Badger, Jr. The narrative opens at a religious gathering where a self-styled prophet named Joseph Smith invokes divine proof of his legitimacy. A mysterious skeptic from the crowd delivers two withering critiques denouncing Smith as a fraud, destabilizing his credulous congregation. When Smith demands the doubter reveal himself, a dark mass falls from above, striking the prophet down. The second chapter, titled "All for Love," shifts focus to Leo Friend, a young man preparing to propose to Belle Gladden, daughter of a Smith believer. Leo rides toward the gathering, troubled by his rival Gerald Evans. The chapter concludes with an ambush: two dark figures suddenly block the road ahead, demanding Leo surrender his weapons. The story blends frontier adventure with religious satire and melodramatic plotting.

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