A Conversation for Ask h2g2

An influential book

Post 1

Just Bob aka Robert Thompson, plugging my film blog cinemainferno-blog.blogspot.co.uk

I need suggestions. There is a big comic books convention in Leeds in September called Thought Bubble, at which fans like me can get books signed by many prominent writers and artists from America, Britain and elsewhere. I will be taking a whole pile of comics and graphic novels this year, including Batgirl to be signed by artist Chris Wildgoose, and Wonder Woman to be signed by writer Greg Rucka.
However, I have always liked the idea of getting something signed by everybody. It needs to be something with *universal influence* across both sides of the Atlantic, to everyone including creators of superhero stories, science fiction, comedy, historical fiction, and more. However, it can't be anything directly comics related, or it will seem like them signing someone else's work.
Last year, I brought a copy of the original novel of Psycho. The year before, it was Milton's Paradise Lost. It served as a nice way into conversing, asking what thoughts or memories they have about it, what associations it raises in their mind. Several of them had interesting comments, ranging from Charlie Adlard having done some artwork for a documentary from a director who has since done a feature-length doc about the Psycho movie, to Jody Houser who had first watched it at a sleepover birthday party when she was about 15, and found it much more tame and boring than she was expecting.
Anyway, I have no idea what to bring this year. One obvious candidate is the Bible, but I think that is much too divisive: I don't want to put people in the position of refusing to sign it on some kind of moral grounds. However, it needs to be something that everyone - Americans, Brits, Mexicans, Spanish, French - will at least have heard of...
Your ideas would be welcome.


An influential book

Post 2

Baron Grim

Verne or Campbell, can't go wrong with either.


An influential book

Post 3

bobstafford

Try Something a little different.

An atlas they can sign either the flyleaf or the page of their home map.


An influential book

Post 4

Icy North

I like Bob's atlas idea.

smiley - mod Joseph Heller - Catch 22
smiley - mod Terry Pratchett - Mort
smiley - mod Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
smiley - mod The Very Hungry Caterpillar
smiley - mod Haynes manual for a 1989 Ford Fiesta
smiley - mod 'Protect & Survive' Government Information Leaflet (or similar)
smiley - mod The Communist Manifesto



An influential book

Post 5

Maria


- 1984, G. Orwell

- Leaves of Grass, W. Whitman

- Any comic book of R. Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, Milo Manara, Magnus... the classic ones ( at least for me)


- Indignez Vous!, Stéphane Hessel

-Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

- Don Quijote de la Mancha, Miguel de Cervantes.


An influential book

Post 6

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

The Wizard of Oz


An influential book

Post 7

Just Bob aka Robert Thompson, plugging my film blog cinemainferno-blog.blogspot.co.uk

Some excellent ideas in there. I do have Don Quixote, and haven't read it yet, which is good - a useful aspect would be to have something like that, because I can read it on the way there and back. The atlas also has a real pull to it.


An influential book

Post 8

Hoovooloo

Maybe a copy of "The Incal" by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius, if you're after a conversation starter that's undeniably influential.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Incal-Alexandro-Jodorowsky/dp/1594650934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526378079&sr=8-1&keywords=the+incal+graphic+novel


An influential book

Post 9

Just Bob aka Robert Thompson, plugging my film blog cinemainferno-blog.blogspot.co.uk

I've been meaning to read The Incal for a while...
Alice in Wonderland has come up as a thought, which is a good shout. It's come up as a direct reference in several comics I read, including Batman and (very recently) Batwoman.


An influential book

Post 10

Pink Paisley

The compendium of religious texts.

Whether you have faith or not, it's hard to imagine more influential writing.

PP.


An influential book

Post 11

Baron Grim

I don't know. I still think Jules Verne or Joseph Campbell would be considered quite influential with this crowd.


An influential book

Post 12

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

I'd go with Jules Verne. His books are still of enough interest to be remade as movies from time to time.


An influential book

Post 13

Baron Grim

They're still making Star Wars films...
And superhero films...
&c


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