A complete issue · 98 pages · 1868
The Frozen Crew Of The Ice-Bound Ship; Or, Terrors Of The Arctic Region
A complete, restored issue of Penny Dreadfuls from 1868 — all 98 pages of cheap serialized Victorian sensation fiction — crime, horror, and lurid melodrama, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.
A complete issue · 98 pages · 1868
This penny publication presents "The Frozen Crew and Ice-Bound Ship; or, The Terrors of the Arctic Regions," subtitled "A Romance of the Wild and Wonderful." Chapter One, "The Pirate Schooner—The Flying Dutchman," introduces the pirate vessel Malachor, captained by the Scottish-born Paul Jones, crewed by 165 men of mixed nationalities. The narrative describes the ship's elegant construction and considerable armament before establishing tension through crew discussions of supernatural encounters with the legendary Flying Dutchman. A Spanish sailor, Rotaldo, recounts a previous sighting wherein a phantom vessel emerged from unexplained fog, fired upon his barque, and vanished—followed by the ship taking on water. When another vessel appears on the horizon, crew members fear it may be the cursed ship. Paul Jones dismisses these superstitions and orders pursuit, commanding his guns be readied against whatever vessel approaches.
Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.