A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1883 — 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 · 1883

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290

1883 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 5 of 16 — 5 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 6 of 16 — 6 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 7 of 16 — 7 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 8 of 16 — 8 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 9 of 16 — 9 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 10 of 16 — 10 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 12 of 16 — 12 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 13 of 16 — 13 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 14 of 16 — 14 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 290 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This Beadle and Adams dime novel, "Little Foxfire, the Boy Spy; or, Old Caleb Arbuckle, Mountain Detective," by Oll Coomes, centers on frontier action in Arkansas Valley, Colorado. The narrative begins with miners Mahlon Jayne and Jack Miles pursued by Native Americans; they take refuge in a natural depression but are ultimately killed in combat. A young red-haired boy, Jim Rassells (nicknamed "Little Foxfire"), emerges from a canyon, attempts to help the miners fight, but survives buried under collapsing earth when the Indians attack. The second chapter shifts three years forward to introduce Old Caleb Arbuckle, a wild-horse hunter camping with physician Dr. Fred Dumont near the Republican River. Arbuckle seeks to capture a legendary black stallion allegedly seen wearing saddle marks, called "Black Beauty," running with a wild mustang herd. The narrative builds toward a horse-hunting chase after Dumont spots the herd nearby.

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