When did this get popular?

[omorka]

When did "dirigible pirates" become a trope? Is this a cliche from steampunk, or what? It seems to show up especially in gaming contexts . . . .

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I tried to plug in my iPod to recharge and got the sad-iPod image. It's had battery problems, and I haven't always recharged it regularly. :-( Trying to restore it to factory settings locked up my iTunes, although restarting the computer fixed that. I may be without portable tunes for a while.

Comments

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Steampunk may have given it a boost, but I've got dirigible-pirates stories in several collections dating back to the early 70s. Poul Anderson did at least one that I could lay hands on quickly.

Personally, I'm fond of the "bicycle Mongols" from S.M. Stirling's Changed World series. Bikes provide a lot of the same advantages as horses against a stationary target, and require far less maintenance.

[princejvstin.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but I *played* a dirigible pirate this last weekend. ;)

[quantumduck.livejournal.com]

I feel like it was a common meme in British fantasy stories for children for some time. I can't find good examples, but I know it predates the formal Steampunk movement, and appears often when a world of flying machines is depicted.