A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1887 — 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 · 1887

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510

1887 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 5 of 16 — 5 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 6 of 16 — 6 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 7 of 16 — 7 / 16

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Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 10 of 16 — 10 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

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Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 510 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This issue of Beadle and Adams' Dime Novel (No. 51, May 1887) features the opening chapters of "The Pride of Bitteropolis," a western adventure serial by Albert W. Aiken, author of "The Two Detectives" and other frontier tales. The story follows Bad Bill Jackson, a muscular newcomer to the Colorado mining camp of Bitteropolis, who establishes himself as the camp's toughest fighter through several victories in saloon brawls. Jackson arrives with his daughter Polly and brazenly declares that any suitor must defeat him first. When the landlord mentions Cool Colorado—a half-breed detective, reputedly the son of Wild Bill, working a nearby claim—Jackson boasts he can defeat anyone. Cool Colorado subsequently enters the saloon, remaining calm despite Jackson's aggressive provocations and insults. Jackson challenges him, but Colorado refuses to be drawn into a barroom brawl, explaining he avoids fighting merely for display.

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