<P> Colson Whitehead's 2001 novel John Henry Days uses the John Henry myth as story background . Whitehead fictionalized the John Henry Days festival in Talcott, West Virginia and the release of the John Henry postage stamp in 1996 . </P> <P> The DC Comics superhero Steel's civilian name, "John Henry Irons," is inspired by John Henry . </P> <P> In 1973, Nick Bosustow and David Adams co-produced an 11 - minute animated short, The Legend of John Henry for Paramount Pictures . </P> <P> Disney has utilized the legend in several shorts, including in 1995, John Henry appeared in the Disney film Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill portrayed by Roger Aaron Brown . He also appeared in a Walt Disney Feature Animation produced animated short version of John Henry in 1999, directed by Mark Henn . Plans for theatrical releases in 2000 and 2001 fell through (other than a limited Academy Award qualifying run in Los Angeles), and the short instead first appeared - slightly edited to remove its opening and closing titles - as the only new entry in the 2002 VHS compilation release Disney's American Legends . The short appeared in its original format as an interstitial on the Disney Channel, and later as part of the 2015 home video compilation Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection . </P>

When was john henry born and when did he die