A complete issue · 32 pages · 1890
Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 601
A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1890 — all 32 pages of painted-cover fiction magazines that launched science fiction, horror, and hardboiled crime, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.
A complete issue · 32 pages · 1890
Joe Phenix's Shadow: A Romance of the Seen and Unseen Albert W. Aiken's mystery serial opens in Washington Square, New York, April 1890. Park policeman Maginnis discovers the body of Abraham Rosengelt, a wealthy elderly Hebrew diamond-broker, stabbed to the heart while reclining on a bench. The autopsy reveals a peculiar wound—made by an instrument like a stiletto, no thicker than a knitting-needle, driven with anatomical precision, suggesting a killer with medical knowledge. Police superintendent and private detective Joe Phenix, recognizing the victim, immediately rule out robbery: Rosengelt's watch, chain, diamond ring, and forty dollars remain untouched. Phenix and the chief deduce the murder stems from private revenge rather than common crime, theorizing the killer was no stranger to Rosengelt but someone he knew. They speculate about the victim's wealth, his son and daughter who helped manage the business, and begin investigating who stood to gain from his death.
Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.