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Shocking Truth & Animal Passion in The Illuminati Ball

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In The Illuminati Ball (JUL192220), celebrated creator Cynthia Von Buhler illustrates a world of power and cruelty, where human-animal hybrids created by the excesses of science seek to claim their rightful place
in a secretive ball for the rich and powerful...

Titan Comics tracked down the award-winning writer, artist, actress, producer, illustrator, and musician to illuminate the secrets of her surreal drama!

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Titan Comics: What is The Illuminati Ball all about? What can you tell us of the plot and characters?

Cynthia Von Buhler: “Illuminati” comes from the word “illumination”. The original Illuminati – started by a Bavarian, Adam Weishaupt, in 1776 – was created to illuminate that which is hidden and secret. My book, The Illuminati Ball, sheds light on scientific truth. Recent gene editing advances have allowed the creation of chimeras: mythical creatures formed from parts of various animals. Scientists have created spider goats to better harvest spider silk and pig humans to grow transplant organs. The scientific community only allows animal-human hybrids to grow as embryos at this point. My story, which is highly plausible and scientifically possible in this day and age, imagines a rogue scientist who has decided to let some of these embryos be born. In his lab Jacob has crossed two pigs, a chimpanzee, a mouse, a bird/fish, and a cow/spider with human DNA. After horrific abuse and experimentation, they escape and come upon The Georgia Guidestones, a Stonehenge-like monument in Elbert County, which has “Die Illuminati Pigs” scrawled on it in graffiti. Pig King researches the Illuminati and learns about the infamous Surrealist Illuminati Ball held by the Baron and Baroness de Rothschild in 1972. He decides to hold his own ball to try and obtain power for the hybrids and all non-human animals.

Titan Comics: Genetic engineering, secret conspiracies, animal hybrids – what inspired you to create this story?

Cynthia Von Buhler: As well as being an author/artist I hold immersive theater events in New York City through my company Speakeasy Dollhouse. My choreographer showed me pictures of the legendary Rothschild’s Surrealist Illuminati Ball from 1972 which drew elaborately masked guests such as Salvador Dali and Audrey Hepburn to the powerful couple’s mansion in France. The costumes were intense. Audrey Hepburn wore a bird cage over her head and the Baroness wore a stag head with diamond tears. The cage and the tears made me think about the plight of non-human animals and my sadness about it. Humans destroy the planet and ruin life for those we share it with. I thought of Cecil the Lion and all those rich trophy hunters going to Africa to hunt. I thought of emotionally sensitive and intelligent pigs trapped in freezing cold trucks on the way to slaughter. I thought about wild born monkeys living at research facilities in tiny cages where they are routinely infected with deadly and painful diseases. Factory farming is horrific torture for the animals and wreaks havoc on the environment. More greenhouse gas comes from livestock emissions than from all the cars in the world. What if these animals were part human? Would that make humans have more compassion? I decided to write a story about these thoughts swirling in my head and The Illuminati Ball was born. We have been holding Illuminati Ball immersive excursions at a waterfront estate outside New York City since 2015. Recently, we began holding much larger versions of the show in New York City.

Article Image 8330Titan Comics: I understand that The Illuminati Ball – the event, not the graphic novel – will be returning to Manhattan on October 4th. What can you tell us?

Cynthia Von Buhler: For the past three summers, small groups of thirty have been blindfolded and chauffeured on weekends from Manhattan to a secluded lakefront estate outside of the city for The Illuminati Ball, an immersive excursion. The ball explores the myth and mystery of the Illuminati in conjunction with my story about the chimeras who are the kinship leaders. Guests, who will receive masks upon entry, will take part in esoteric ritual ceremonies throughout the temple. Highlights include fire, provocative dance, music, visual, and unique experiences unfolding continuously across three floors of interactive Illuminati-inspired rooms.

Guests are welcome to wander to the kinship leader's lairs where the five Illuminati desires are explored: love, wealth, fame, power and respect.

• LOVE - CONNECTION – The Siren’s Speakeasy, presided over by chicken kinship leader Parthenope, features a Greek mythology theme with sultry mermaids in a water tank and sexy sailors driven mad by their songs.

• BASIC NEEDS - The Pumping Station, a farmer invites guests to step up, place their hands into curtained breast boxes, and milk horned and hoofed maidens while looking directly into their eyes. Afterwards, guest may taste the delicious milk they helped produce. Nearby, cow kinship leader Kahmadhenu bathes in her breast milk. Guests may dip their hands into the youth inducing liquid.

• WEALTH - The Bank Vault, our dear Pindar leader, Baron de Rothschild aka Pig King, allows selected guests to step into his vault and open his safe deposit box with a key they received upon entry. They may keep what they find.

• POWER - The Jeweled Jungle, presided over by Chumanzee offers guests a chance to pluck emeralds and diamonds from flowering vines in an African rainforest in order to bejewel and empower themselves. Be careful of what lurks behind the jungle.

• RESPECT - The Mouse Hole is kinship leader Vacanti’s lair. Guests crawl into a mouse hole --which makes them feel physically small -- for discussions that makes them feel big, truly listened to and understood.

• FAME – The Rothschild Dining Room presided over by Baron de Rothschild, aka Pig King, offers unique delectable treats and exclusive immersive experiences.
All attendees must fill out an online application at TheIlluminatiBall.com and be accepted before they are allowed to purchase a ticket. We receive thousands of applications and tickets always sell out so we advise applying soon if you wish to attend the show on October 4th during Comic Con.

I’ve written and staged six immersive plays in New York City since 2011, The Bloody Beginning, The Brothers Booth, Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic, The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini, The Illuminati Ball Immersive Excursion, and The Illuminati Ball New York City. You can find out more about these shows and watch videos at SpeakeasyDollhouse.com.



Titan Comics:
You've written music, books, theater... what makes graphic novels stand out to you, as a medium?

Cynthia Von Buhler: " Graphic novels show emotion rather than state it with words. Immersive theater is similar. Guests interact with my characters and move within my sets to experience the story even more deeply. You won’t get the whole story at the show because everyone sees different things depending upon where and when they travel throughout the venue. By receiving a copy of the book with each ticket guests will understand what they experienced more fully and they’ll have a keepsake they can return to again and again.

Titan Comics: What's the message behind this story? Tales of hidden, wealthy cabals playing god seem more relevant than ever, these days…

Cynthia Von Buhler: The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, species Agnus scythicus, has the flesh and blood of a lamb, yet it grows up from the ground, hatched from a gourd, and tethered to the plant by an umbilical cord. After eating all the foliage surrounding it, the lamb and plant die. For four centuries, Agnus scythicus was believed to be an actual plant. It appeared in encyclopedias and books. Naturalists, scholars and historians didn’t question each other. It had been propagated for so long – it had to be true! It turns out it was just a cotton plant which rivaled wool for making clothes. “Illuminati” comes from the word “illumination”. Its goals were to oppose superstition, promote transparency, remove religious influence over public life, and end abuses of state power. Their meetings were outlawed by the Bavarian ruler and the Catholic Church. The Illuminati was vilified by conservative and religious critics, and the group disbanded and became fractured. Since then, in a historical game of Telephone, the Illuminati has become known as an organization of shadowy figures controlling the world like puppeteers. Its members are supposedly billionaires, presidents, rappers, and pop stars, who sacrifice children and worship Satan in exchange for fame, wealth, and power. These ideas about the Illuminati, like the Vegetable Lamb, Flat Earth, and Holocaust Denial, are nonsense. Ever since I started regularly holding The Illuminati Ball beginning in 2015, I have received thousands of letters and applications offering me souls. They want fame, wealth, respect, love, and power. Others accuse me of being a Satanist who collects souls. They make videos about me on YouTube. Nobody wants your soul. After deep immersion in the supposed Illuminati, I’ve learned what it is. I know all about the destruction and chaos it can wreak upon us -- although not in the ways you might think. The Illuminati as we now know it started as a joke, but it's no longer funny. In the sixties, a few hippies started a parody religion, Discordianism, which worshipped Eris, the goddess of chaos. They thought the world was too authoritarian, so they started to spread Illuminati conspiracy theories through magazines and books, to loosen things up. These LSD-loving Discordians meant well, but the false information they had been spewing for decades snowballed and backfired. The characters you meet in this book might seem fanciful, like the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, but I assure you, the science is real, and it will change life on this planet forever. Don’t let the chaos of disinformation blind you from seeing the light of scientific truth.

Titan Comics: Do you have a favorite scene or character in The Illuminati Ball?

Cynthia Von Buhler: I love Pig King’s compassion, but I relate to Chumanzee’s anger. They are both two sides of me, light and dark.

You can find out more about Cynthia’s shows, including the immersive The Illuminati Ball itself, at SpeakeasyDollhouse.com.

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