Pluck and Luck

(Westbury, 1898-1929)
™ and ©1928 Westbury Publising Co.

Pluck and Luck is not a comic book, but an example of the “dime novel,” a genre of periodic illustrated juvenile fiction that flourished from the 1890s through the 1930s. Dime novels (which often cost less than a dime) were printed on newsprint with rough-paper color covers and appeared either weekly or bi-weekly. They often featured recurring heroes like Nick Carter, Buffalo Bill or Deadeye Dick, and the stories wrapped rip-roaring adventure in a moral context deemed appropriate for young boys. Pluck and Luck was an anthology title offering tales of the West, pirates, travels to distant lands, and other familiar themes. The cover illustrations foreshadowed later comic art styles, and dime novels paved the way for the pulp magazines of the 20s and 30s, which were direct ancestors of modern comic books.

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