A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1900 — all 16 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 · 16 pages · 1900

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1099

1900 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1099 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1099 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1099 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

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Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1099 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 1099 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This March 1900 issue of Lightning Leo's Luck features "The Rats of the River" by Redmond Blake. The story follows Porgy Jim, a reformed criminal, as he rows up the East River near New York one night. Harbor police sergeant O'Toole stops and interrogates him, suspecting involvement with river thieves. Jim escapes questioning and picks up two men at a pier—an elderly fellow and a young gentleman—who discuss their plan to contact Black Aaron, a criminal "fence" who brokers stolen goods and arranges jobs for thieves. The story reveals Aaron runs a saloon as a front for his criminal network, with a secret passage built beneath an adjacent lumber yard. The men plan to reach Aaron by boat through a concealed trap-door beneath the dock rather than using the public street entrance, protecting themselves from police detection and detective Lightning Leo.

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