A complete issue · 7 pages · 1926
The Crystal Egg
A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1926 — all 7 pages of painted-cover fiction magazines that launched science fiction, horror, and hardboiled crime, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.
About this issue
This science-fiction story concerns Mr. Cave, an elderly naturalist and antiquities dealer near Seven Dials, who possesses a polished crystal egg that attracts two potential buyers—a clergyman and a dark-bearded Oriental man. Mr. Cave reluctantly offers it for five pounds, but secretly removes it from his window display, hiding it with Mr. Jacoby Wace, a young hospital demonstrator. Cave confides to Wace that he has discovered remarkable visions within the crystal. The narrative reveals Cave's unhappy domestic circumstances—his vain, drinking wife and hostile step-children contribute to his melancholia and insomnia. One August morning around three o'clock, driven by distress, Cave discovers the crystal glowing in his dark shop with unusual radiance, implying it possesses extraordinary properties beyond mere decoration.
Browse this issue page by page
Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.