A complete, restored issue of Penny Dreadfuls from 1900 — all 36 pages of cheap serialized Victorian sensation fiction — crime, horror, and lurid melodrama, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.

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A complete issue · 36 pages · 1900

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring

1900 · Free to read

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 2 of 36 — 2 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 3 of 36 — 3 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 4 of 36 — 4 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 5 of 36 — 5 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 6 of 36 — 6 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 7 of 36 — 7 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 8 of 36 — 8 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 9 of 36 — 9 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 10 of 36 — 10 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 11 of 36 — 11 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 12 of 36 — 12 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 13 of 36 — 13 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 14 of 36 — 14 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 15 of 36 — 15 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 16 of 36 — 16 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 17 of 36 — 17 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 18 of 36 — 18 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 19 of 36 — 19 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 20 of 36 — 20 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 21 of 36 — 21 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 22 of 36 — 22 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 23 of 36 — 23 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 24 of 36 — 24 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 25 of 36 — 25 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 26 of 36 — 26 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 27 of 36 — 27 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 28 of 36 — 28 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 29 of 36 — 29 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 30 of 36 — 30 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 31 of 36 — 31 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 32 of 36 — 32 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 33 of 36 — 33 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 34 of 36 — 34 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 35 of 36 — 35 / 36

Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 36 of 36 — 36 / 36

About this issue

This issue contains "Phil Rushington's Search; Or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring," a serial by Stanley Norris set in the Mossman & Rushington traveling circus. Manager Phil Rushington debates casting decisions when Eona ("The Girl Centaur") becomes unavailable. A mysterious well-dressed boy arrives seeking work as a hurdle-rider but refuses to give his real name. When a mule team runs wild, the boy nearly perishes before Rushington rescues him—revealing the youth to be the "unknown rider." When questioned, the boy, calling himself Francis Carter, insists he has no home or relatives and desperately needs employment, deflecting questions about his circumstances. A suspicious driver named Reddy appears to have intentionally steered the mules toward the boy, suggesting hidden danger. The narrative combines circus performance spectacle with mystery surrounding the protagonist's secretive origins.

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