A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1884 — all 16 pages of painted-cover fiction magazines that launched science fiction, horror, and hardboiled crime, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.

Home › Exhibition › Pulp Fiction › Read

A complete issue · 16 pages · 1884

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385

1884 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 5 of 16 — 5 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 6 of 16 — 6 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 7 of 16 — 7 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 8 of 16 — 8 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 9 of 16 — 9 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 10 of 16 — 10 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 12 of 16 — 12 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 13 of 16 — 13 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 14 of 16 — 14 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 385 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This December 9, 1834 Beadle and Adams pulp serial tells of "Yreka Jim's Joker," a Western adventure set in the Idaho mining camp of Red Nose. A handsome, well-armed stranger arrives during political turmoil—Judge Jeremiah Alvin, who controls the town through strict temperance enforcement, faces growing popular opposition demanding a "free-license ticket." When the stranger dismounts at the Buckin' Cayuse hotel, Judge Alvin mistakenly identifies him as the temperance speaker Charles "Chippeway" Charley St. Maur. Townspeople seize and carry the bewildered man inside, stuffing him with frontier delicacies for an hour. After consuming an enormous meal, the stranger reveals his true identity—"Jim"—admits he came for poker, and audaciously produces a whisky flask to offer the horrified temperance advocates. The story appears to concern Jim's scheme to challenge Alvin's authority through deception.

Browse this issue page by page

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