Coffin Hop 2013: Historical Characters that are overused

Posted on October 24, 2013 by craigallengarrett

party on.

Coffin Hop snuck up on me, even with the constant reminders from Axel Howerton, one of the main show-runners of the hop. This year is pretty exciting, as Axel and the Coffin Hoppers put together an anthology called Death By Drive-In to benefit LitWorld.org, non-profit organization supporting child literacy.

A lot of fun authors are involved, including one of my favorite writers in the horror genre, CW Lasart. The web comic I write, Robot Lincoln & Zombie Jackson has a brand new two page story in Death By Drive-In, the first new material we’ve put out in a year for our beloved undead Presidents. Artist Jeff Wilson really went above and beyond in cramming a lot of great B-movie references into just two pages; it’s a must see. Buy a copy for a good cause and some super fun reading.

Anyway, as a part of the official blog hop, I need to run some sort of contest. I saw a recent article on io9 titled “10 Historical Figures We’re Sick of Seeing in Science Fiction”, complete with an image of Abraham Lincoln (he ranks in at #8). Obviously, I am guilty of using Abe in my comic book, and it got me thinking of other historical figures I think are overused. Personally, I feel like Hitler could be given a rest.

So with that in mind, the contest is as follows:

Which historical figure are you sick of seeing in fiction, and why?

The answer I like best will receive a grab bag of Robot Lincoln & Zombie Jackson goodies, to include a T-shirt, a copy of the first issue, and a groovy mug.

Go to www.coffinhop.com for the rest of the list of bloggers and reap your free Halloween stuff; good times.

43 thoughts on “Coffin Hop 2013: Historical Characters that are overused”

Anne Michaud on October 24, 2013 at 8:45 pm said:

Einstein. Seriously, I get the cool hair, but he always ends up looking like some creepy lunatic.

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 25, 2013 at 9:25 am said:
  
  Ah excellent pick. I’m pretty sure back in the day Robin Williams lobbied to get a bio pic made with him as Albert; at least we were spared that.
  
  Reply ↓
  - Anne Michaud on October 25, 2013 at 11:51 am said:
    
    True that, Craig. True that.
Axel Howerton on October 24, 2013 at 9:03 pm said:

Lately? Tesla, fo shizz. Though both Bowie and John C Reilly gave mad excellent performances as ol’ Nik.

Overused in general, though? Napoleon. Except in BILL & TED. He was the fucking BOMB in BILL & TED, yo.

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 25, 2013 at 9:27 am said:
  
  I thought the Tesla Drunk History was hysterical. Loved Crispin Glover as Edison.
  
  Reply ↓
  - Axel Howerton on October 25, 2013 at 3:34 pm said:
    
    Werd up. One of my favorites. Have you seen the Al Capone one?
    
    “Al, maybe just have ONE shot of penicillin?”
    
    “Nope. I’m good.”
Paul Stansfield on October 24, 2013 at 9:16 pm said:

Jack the Ripper. Obviously, there have been some stories using him (or sometimes her, them–since the identity is unknown authors can really be creative with it) that were really good, but oh my lord it’s been overdone to death.

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 25, 2013 at 9:28 am said:
  
  Excellent choice. Odd how we’ve kind of deified a guy that wasn’t even a prolific killer.
  
  Reply ↓
Nina D'Arcangela on October 24, 2013 at 10:57 pm said:

How about any of them… It’s fiction, think something creative up. Robot Lincoln & Zombie Jackson aside, of course 😉

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 25, 2013 at 9:29 am said:
  
  True, sometimes basing a character on a historical figure does a lot of the heavy lifting for lazy writers like myself.
  
  Reply ↓
  - Nina D'Arcangela on October 26, 2013 at 1:43 am said:
    
    I wouldn’t say lazy, I’d say imagining in a different direction. 😉
Jeanette Jackson on October 25, 2013 at 1:50 am said:

I would have to agree with being sick of Tesla. For some reason lately I hear or see his name almost weekly

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 25, 2013 at 9:30 am said:
  
  Edison 4eva.
  
  Reply ↓
Julianne Snow (@CdnZmbiRytr) on October 25, 2013 at 3:41 am said:

That’s a good question! I’d have to say I’m tired of seeing Lincoln… Great post!

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 25, 2013 at 9:23 am said:
  
  Ha! It would sort of ironic if you won this contest, then.
  
  Reply ↓
Pingback: #CoffinHop – Day 2 | The Abandoned & The Disappeared.Tell me what happened to these Ghost Towns… | Kim Koning
afstewart on October 25, 2013 at 3:18 pm said:

Tesla pops up a bit much for me.

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 25, 2013 at 4:27 pm said:
  
  Yeah, it seems he really earned his #1 slot on the io9 list. What an asshole.
  
  Reply ↓
cwlasart on October 25, 2013 at 3:33 pm said:

Since I already have the comic and a nice shirt (Thanks to the lovely Craig Garrett) I will refrain from entering the contest. I couldn’t help but stop by though and thank Craig for the wonderful shout out! You should all read his comic, it’s hilarious and creepy. I couldn’t put it down! ❤

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 25, 2013 at 4:24 pm said:
  
  tee hee!
  
  Reply ↓
Michelle Muto on October 25, 2013 at 6:25 pm said:

I’m going to agree with the Lincoln one.

Reply ↓
Joanna Parypinski on October 25, 2013 at 8:17 pm said:

Weirdly, my answer would have to be Edgar Allan Poe… which is so unfortunate, because I love me some Poe! But it feels as though the mainstream media has decided Poe is cool and should be referenced all the damn time. Started watching The Following on Netflix, which is a cool show, but all the Poe references are sort of “been there, done that.” Somebody on the show even commented that a murder similar to the Cask of Amontillado was “classic Poe”… as if there’s anything other than “classic” Poe. I mean, the guy’s not around anymore, right? It’s ALL classic. Anyway, I’m making my way through Death By Drive-In right now and I look forward to reading the Robot Lincoln and Zombie Jackson comic!

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 28, 2013 at 5:41 am said:
  
  Agreed; I think similar stuff can be said about Lovecraft at this point.
  
  Reply ↓
Lori Joyce Parker on October 26, 2013 at 1:37 am said:

Isaac Newton. The apple fell; get over it!

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 28, 2013 at 5:41 am said:
  
  Is there a lot of Newton fiction floating around out there?
  
  Reply ↓
  - Lori Joyce Parker on October 28, 2013 at 4:21 pm said:
    
    Not with him as the main character, but a lot of steampunk and time travel tales just have to through him in, whether or not the protagonists realize how important the scientist is.
Pingback: #CoffinHop Day 3|The Abandoned & The Disappeared.Tell me what happened to these Ghost Towns… | Kim Koning
Penelope Crowe on October 26, 2013 at 2:56 pm said:

This is fun!!
I can’t get Lincoln out of my head…

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 28, 2013 at 5:40 am said:
  
  I hear you
  
  Reply ↓
Teresa Henson on October 27, 2013 at 1:37 am said:

Lindsey Lohan…she’s a ghoul I could do without hearing anymore about!

Reply ↓
Pingback: #CoffinHop Day 4|The Abandoned & The Disappeared.Tell me what happened to these Ghost Towns… | Kim Koning
Jolie du Pre (@Joliedupre) on October 27, 2013 at 2:41 pm said:

By far, Albert Einstein. A close second is William Shakespeare.

Reply ↓
James Garcia Jr on October 27, 2013 at 2:56 pm said:

Hi, Craig. I’m a big music fan, so I’m going to take this in another direction. How about Elvis? To borrow from Van Halen, Elvis was “on top of the world for a little while”, and we’ve made him out to be a joke now. We need to let the man rest and allow the future generations to discover what he means to Rock n Roll.
It’s just a thought.
Happy Coffin Hopping

-Jimmy

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 30, 2013 at 9:00 pm said:
  
  Ah, good thoughts, Jimmy.
  
  Reply ↓
anthonyjrapino on October 28, 2013 at 3:03 am said:

Samuel Clemens and Charles Dickens both come to mind, the former most famously from the River World Series and the latter from Doctor Who (among other places of course, like popping up from under toadstools and appearing on burned toast). Did I just compare Dickens and Clemens to Jesus? No, I compared them to overcooked bread. Speaking of gods, with the steady growth in popularity of the Cthulhu Mythos, I’m thinking Lovecraft will become our new favorite overused historical figure. Or Azathoth.

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 28, 2013 at 5:40 am said:
  
  Lovecraft is great, but the Mythos going mainstream in the past few years feels odd.
  
  Reply ↓
- Lori Joyce Parker on October 28, 2013 at 4:22 pm said:
  
  100% spot on with those two! The Tales of Alvin Maker by Orson Scott Card comes to mind.
  
  Reply ↓
Pingback: #CoffinHop Gets Behind Child Literacy | Death by Drive-In | Kim Koning
Georgina Morales on October 30, 2013 at 1:34 am said:

I just can’t understand those Pride & Prejudice & Zombies kind of rehashes. Really?? Augh….

Reply ↓
- craigallengarrett on October 30, 2013 at 9:01 pm said:
  
  Yeah, I agree. Glad the fad has passed.
  
  Reply ↓
Pingback: #CoffinHop Day 7|The Abandoned & The Disappeared.Tell me what happened to these ghost towns… | Kim Koning
Pingback: #CoffinHop Day 8 – Dead End|The Abandoned & The Disappeared.Tell me what happened… to these ghost towns. | Kim Koning
craigallengarrett on November 1, 2013 at 7:20 pm said:

Thanks for all of the thoughtful responses! Paul Stansfield, you’re my pick with your comments about Jack the Ripper. Send your mailing info (and t-shirt size) to Craigallengarrett@gmail.com and your free stuff will be on the way.

Reply ↓