The Idea (wordless novel)

An artist is struck with an idea, which manifests itself as a naked woman with long, black hair.

He displays her to the public, but the authorities, offended by her nudity, chase her around the city in order to cover up her body.

The authorities destroy all books published with the woman's image, but she finds new outlets in the mass media, and succeeds in disrupting the social order.

[5] American artist Lynd Ward used the concept of an idea surviving oppression in his wordless novel Madman's Drum (1930).

[6] Austro-Hungarian filmmaker Berthold Bartosch spent two years[7] on an animated film adaptation of The Idea in 1932; initially Masereel agreed to a collaboration in 1930, but backed out of the production.

A black-and-white illustration. A naked woman runs along a reel of paper on a printing press as several men in the background watch with surprised and frightened looks on their faces.
The idea, represented as a woman, propagates itself on a printing press.