"Penny dreadfuls" were cheap pamphlets published for about eighty years in England after they were introduced around 1830. They were serialized adventure stories, often very sensational or lurid in nature, which were designed originally to appeal to adults who could not afford to buy real books. However, eventually the audience was primarily composed of teenagers. These publications filled the niche occupied by comic books today and were condemned by the same types of do-gooders who vilified the horror-type comic books of the 1950s.
Due to their cheap price, low quality of paper, perceived lack of worth, and paper drives in two World Wars, few examples of the earlier editions survive today.
For more information about penny dreadfuls as well as the TV series named after them, please see this article in The Guardian.
No comments:
Post a Comment