A complete issue · 32 pages · 1888
Beadle's Pocket Library No. 256
A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1888 — 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 · 1888
Colonel Prentiss Ingraham's serial "Merle Monte's Last Cruise: or, The Sea Robber at Bay" continues the exploits of a naval officer pursuing piracy in the Gulf of Mexico. A uniformed man lies bound to a bayou tree, gagged and helpless as an alligator approaches—he faints as the reptile closes in. A mysterious figure in a canoe, disguised as a Mexican Indian and named Peon, witnesses a boat capturing "Captain Pierre Dupont, the Sea Marauder," then rescues the bound man from the alligator by driving a knife into the creature's brain. The rescued man's hair has turned white from terror. Days later, near New Orleans, Peon (disguised as a squaw) and the white-haired man (the Sea Marauder himself, seeking revenge) plan to capture Midshipman Merle Monte's Gold Ship, which carries treasure. Three vessels approach: the Gold Ship, the Sea Marauder, and a lugger—all in view of the conspirators.
Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.