In November 2016, the graphic novel Aleister & Adolf will be available and I wanted to learn more about this unique project so I was given the privilege of speaking to the illustrator- Michael Oeming.
I was also given permission to share a couple of exclusive images from the graphic novel which you’ll see in this interview.
Michael Oeming is a well known comic book artist and writer, and is most popularly known for working on projects such as Powers, The Mice Templar, Cave Carson and Thor. He also wrote a series called The Victories that has many of the themes you may already be familiar with from the conspiracy realm.
The graphic novel Aleister & Adolf seeks to delve into this strange occult madness shared between Adolf Hitler and Aleister Crowley (this description is straight from its publisher Dark Horse Books):
In Aleister & Adolf, media theorist and documentarian Douglas Rushkoff weaves a mind-bending tale of iconography and mysticism, set against the backdrop of a battle-torn Europe.This all-new original graphic novel, beautifully rendered by Michael Avon Oeming (The Victories, Powers), views real-world history through a psychedelic occult lens.In a story spanning generations and featuring some of the most notable and notorious idealists of the twentieth century, legendary occultist Aleister Crowley develops a powerful and dangerous new weapon to defend the world against Adolf Hitler’s own war machine—spawning an unconventional new form of warfare that is fought not with steel but with symbols and ideas. But these intangible arsenals are much more insidious—and perhaps much more dangerous—than their creators could have ever conceived.
I wanted to share the concept of this graphic novel with all of you because it demonstrates some of the concepts we’ve been exploring on IlluminatiWatcher.com for some years now. Black magic, occultism, Crowley, Hitler, and ceremonial magick all play a part in this tale…
Let’s get into the interview where we can learn a bit more about the background of the project:
IW: “Aleister & Adolf” looks like quite an interesting (and niche) topic. What can the reader expect from this project?
MO: It’s a book about evil and what evil men do. We cover how Nazi ideals have crept their way into the U.S. Governement and Corporate ideas and the power of symbols. Much of the book is speculation, but it is all based on some actual events and facts. Some too strange to believe such as the connections between NASA and black magic. It’s a very dark book. Kind of a warning sigil.
IW: What got you interested in this project? Is there something that draws you towards these dark topics?
MO: Hmm… it wasn’t so much the darkness, something I’ve been trying to get away from as I’ve had enough of that in real life! The dark stuff, especially the Nazi stuff was really hard, depressing work to get through for me. But I’m still very interested in the weird and the strange such as Corporations constantly using occult images to represent their companies, the Nasa connections to Jack Parsons and Crowley, the fact that we took in so many Nazi’s in Operation Paperclip to join our government and form new organizations like the CIA. I mean, come on, how crazy and interesting is that???
IW: Do you have personal beliefs in anything occult-related? If so, what got you interested in such a thing?
MO: I’m interested in the psychology of it. Practical magic isn’t something I believe in, but I do believe in the powers of perception, that once someone is convinced of something, their “Magical Thinking” can certainly effect their world. I’ve tried to have some experiences but have not had any. I really don’t want any supernatural experiences to tell the truth as I think it can open up the doors of perception to dangerous circular thinking. Like after drawing this book, I kept seeing Nazi and Occult symbols everywhere from innocuous chain stores and public transportation logos to Banks. I do go star gazing frequently hoping to see something in the sky other than stars, but so far no real luck. My wife Taki Soma and I are going on a big foot hunt with a UPARS this weekend, but I don’t expect to have any experiences with black magic on this trip… at least I hope not!
IW: I’m curious as to how the creative process for this book came about; did you have input into this storyline? Or did Douglas Rushkoff have it entirely written before you started illustrating?
MO: Douglas had the whole script ready to go. He had the whole thing formed in his head already, but as he’s an experienced comic writer, he knew the artists is still co-telling the story and was cool enough to share it with me as a creator owned project. The vision is his, but it is shared.
IW: Do you feel that this story draws a sympathetic view for Hitler or Crowley?
MO: Oh no, not at all, especially Hitler. Any of those Aryan groups out there looking for some explanation as to why Caucasians are magically superior will be disappointed. Maybe Crowley possibly comes across as an eccentric old druggie just looking to have orgies and be a contrarian during very conservative times. That was the riddle about him: Was he evil? Was he a performance artist? He was a big part of the art scene in Europe before he became known for his interest in the Occult, so part of me thinks it was all a show, talking about leaving people for dead in the Himalayas, or saying he’s eaten a baby or human feces, sounds a lot like the Banksy of his day. Then again, anyone who brags about such things, even if they made it up, might just be evil anyway if that evil is in his heart. But I think he was more Loki the trixter on drugs descending into madness than Lucifer.
IW: Have you looked into the connection with Crowley and Hitler channeling E.T. spirits (e.g. Maria Orsic with the Vril Society and Crowley’s Lam entity)? Does the book make mention of that?
MO: I think it is mentioned, the whole Book of the Law thing… but there was only so much room to cover so much strangeness AND character arcs. Maybe we’ll do more, we tapped into the L. Ron Hubbard connection too, but I’d love to do more. I covered some of that in my series the Victories.
IW: I’ve been out of the comic game for at least 20 years, but I’ve seen online that your prior works, like “Victories,” have themes of spirituality and even transhumanism- is that correct?
MO: Victories begins with a very personal story about my own anxieties and depression, focusing on one character, Faustus, a member of the Victories, but in that first arc I planted seeds to cover all this other conspiracy stuff I’m interested in. Transhumanism is a big part of that, hell, we might have actual super powers some day…. well, by we I mean the 1%. I also covered a lot about mind control and the worst part of that was most of it actually happened. Look up Ewen Cameron and the SLEEP ROOM it’s truly horrifying and all real, all sanctioned by the government…
IW: What are your feelings on the conspiracy theories swirling the Internet regarding the Illuminati and the occult?
MO: Well, I think the “Illuminati” is a natural output of how corporations and governments work both together and separately. Corporations look after their own best interests, the interests of their partners as well, so in a way, there are groups of powerful people looking to control the world, but not in the classic Illuminati way. That’s just my opinion though. Just because you see cars racing down the street in your town and there is video to prove it doesn’t mean Nascar is taking over the town, you know?
I want to thank Michael Oeming for giving me the time to ask a few questions about his latest graphic novel, and I’m super interested to read this when it comes out- I’ve already pre-ordered my copy on Amazon. If you’re also ready to check it out you can get a copy at Dark Horse Books or Amazon.com:
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