Siegfried

Siegfried #1

by Alex Alice

Librement adapté de la légende des Nibelungen qui a inspiré à Wagner l'un de ses plus beaux opéras, Siegfried est un sommet de l'heroic-fantasy, une bande dessinée fascinante qui renoue avec les mythes fondateurs des plus belles légendes. L'enfance de Siegfried, fils des hommes et des dieux, élevé parmi les loups par Mime.

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Mythology, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

69 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2007

About the author

Diplômé d'une école de commerce, Alex Alice est un dessinateur et scénariste français de bande-dessinés, connu principalement pour sa série "Le Troisième Testament".
Cette série de quatre albums est un thriller ésotérique largement inspiré des œuvres d'Umberto Eco.
Passionné par les opéras de Wagner, Alex Alice travaille actuellement sur une trilogie basée sur le mythique "Der Ring des Nibelungen", et prépare un film d'animation se déroulant dans le même univers.
Il a par ailleurs récemment publié une prequel au "Troisième Testament" : Julius.

Reviews

[Guillaume · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le dessin est magnifique 🤩 et cette saga... comment un jour s'en lasser ? "Dans une pépite, le pouvoir absolu. Rien ne résiste à la puissance de l'or. Ni matière, ni esprit, ni les dieux, ni Odin. Mais en retour... l'or règne sans partage sur le cœur de son maître : qui cherche le pouvoir de l'or doit renoncer à l'amour. Ne plus jamais aimer, ou être aimé... même Odin ne peut s'y résoudre. Alors..."

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible art - just incredible! I was disappointed that this is only part of the story, and I have to wait for the rest.

[47Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story isn't as engaging as I hoped, but the artwork I nice. This first book is only an intro for the Siegfried's saga, so I expect more in the future. Very little is memorable about this story so far and there are several things still shrouded in mystery.

Siegfried was abandoned by his parents as a baby and raised by a creature named Mime. Grown into a young boy he leaves Mime the blacksmith and lives the next few years in the wild, hunting with a wolf he adopted. A mysterious man visits Mime and tasks him to convince Siegfried to fight the dragon by telling him where the human kingdom is found.

[enchanteurlitteraire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une BD sur la mythologie nordique qui m’a vraiment plu.
Il y a de magnifiques planches.
C’est un premier tome très introductif mais je sens que le second promets de grandes choses!

[Katja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn't heard of this until I saw it on library's new acquisitions but it sounded cool so I picked it up. And it was even better than I expected! Gorgeous art and interesting adaptation. I was especially impressed with two-page spreads, this is how you make graphic novels! It doesn't matter how well you know Wagner's operas or Edda or myths in general, I think this will please most readers anyway.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully colored and illustrated. Spectacular artwork and layouts.

[Aildiin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not your typical adaptation of the myth as we start very early in Siegfried's life and he is a child and then a teenager in this book.
The art is great as expected from Alex Alice.

[Marie the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it was a bit messy, but the illustrations are gorgeous! Also quite an interesting story

[solène · Rating 3 out of 5]

The seed of all woe... it shines, but sheds no light. Glimmers, yet holds no heat. Gold.

I've been wanting to read this comic for over ten years because I'm trash for enthralling mythical stories mixed with pretty artwork, and let me tell you something: Alex Alice delivered in this retelling of Siegfried's myth.

I don't know anything about The Nibelungenlied other than what I was taught in German class in high school (which is to say, not as much as I'd like to), but this introduction to Siegfried's saga was well-written and full of information. Also, 10/10 for the interview with Alex Alice at the end of the tome: it's always fascinating to learn more about an author's thought process (and the drawings are honestly to. die. for).

I'm only giving it three stars because the story somewhat felt incoherent at times, and even though it was a decision made by the writer, it bothered me a bit.

The feeling of being at once coherent and incomprehensible is a part of myth. In that way, it's like a dream: we feel a meaning, a coherence, but it resists rational analysis. I wanted to preserve that aspect here. —Alex Alice

On another note, they keep mentioning a Siegfried animated movie in the interview and I can't find anything about it anywhere???

[Ana Luisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cómic que retoma la historia del héroe Sigurd o Siegfried, narrándola desde su triste nacimiento hasta la búsqueda de su pasado (en este volumen). No sabía mucho de esta leyenda pero esto no es un obstáculo para disfrutar la historia.

En el apartado visual, este cómic es un 9-10 ya que la relación entre colores y detalles es muy armoniosa, más los dibujos de dos páginas que están compuestos por diversos elementos de la historia. La narrativa está en un punto intermedio, en lo personal no captó mucho mi atención hasta las últimas páginas, al inicio no entendía qué estaba pasando y existen lagunas en la historia que no dejan satisfecho al lector con lo que le están contando.

Empezaré el segundo volumen porque quiero saber si el autor mejora en la estructura de su historia.

[Juuso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aivan äärettömän ihana taide! Ihanat sävyt ja aivan käsittämättömän kaunista luonnon taltioimista. Pieniin ruutuihin on saatu ikuistettua liikkuvat hetket.

Jokatapauksessa, vaikka taide olikin ihanaa ja kiehtovaa oli tämä ensimmäinen osa kuitenkin minulle itselleni aika sekava. En suosittele tätä todellakaan ihmisille, jotka ovat vasta aloittelemassa sarjakuvien lukemista, sillä tämä kirja osaa olla hyvin hämmentävä. Erityisiä ruutuasetteluja ja outoja sijainteja puhekuplille... Tarut menivät ainakin ensimmäisessä osassa hyvin paljon sekaisin keskenään ja tapahtumat olivat ainakin itselleni epäselviä.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am unsure if Siegfried originated with Richard Wagner's 14 hour epic opera or it goes further back, but it's an interesting Norse myth. Unfortunately, half of this book is an interview with the author on how he created this book and animated film. So I still have to read Vol 2 to get the rest of the tale. So far, so good. The artwork is fantastic, but at times it's an odd mix of realism with cartoon. Mime, Siegfried's Nibelung caretaker is heavily inspired by creatures from Jim Hensen's Dark Crystal drawn in a Disney sort of style. Young child Siegfried has a very Jungle Book sort of vibe, but Odin, and older Siegfried are much more realistic. But it doesn't clash, surprisingly.

[Romeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read both books in four days, i couldn't put them down.This is just an epic story with epic art work put into it. I need to find and read the third installment.

[Unai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poco a poco voy solucionando deudas pendientes con los cómics y tenía ganas de meterme con la adaptación (libre) de la saga de los Nibelungos que hizo enteramente el francés Alex Alice en sus tres tomos. Esta vez si que os digo que son 3 y nada mas. La serie está terminada y tengo que reconocer que es uno de los BD que mas me ha gustado en mucho tiempo y que mas me ha hecho entrar en la historia.

Durante 3 tomos y en varios niveles de narración conoceremos la historia de Siegfried, huérfano con trágica historia y destino marcado, criado por un Nibelungo, la historia de Odin y con él de la ley y del mundo, y la historia de una Valquiria que quiere saber demasiado. Y una cosa os voy a decir, en todos sus niveles ha sabido emocionarme, incluso con Mime, el herrero Nibelungo intrigante, mentiroso y gruñón, capaz de llevar de viaje un Yunque de repuesto.

La historia lleva su ritmo, pero es siempre ascendente y nos sentiremos igual de cómodos con Odin atrapado en su propia voluntad, como con Siegrfried tanto de niño como de joven y también con la trágica historia de la Valquiria, quien quiere saber lo que va a ocurrir a pesar de que la impotencia sea el precio por ver allá de las brumas del destino.

Acompañaremos a Sigrfied desde sus primeros pasos, hasta las entrañas de la tierra y ascenderemos a los cielos a lomos de un caballo, todo ello para desafiar los divino y lo humano, lo natural y lo mágico y lo haremos con humor, tragedia, destino, maldad y amor a todos los niveles, con humanos, nibelungos, brujas, gigantes, dragones, valquirias, Odin con sus cuervos y toda la creación. Alex Alice domina ambas formas de narrativa en esta obra y tanto en niveles de historia contada desde diferentes planos de realidad, como visualmente y consigue atraparte, emocionarte y dejarte en todo lo alto, para que cierres el ultimo álbum con un suspiro de épica satisfacción y con ganas de escuchar a Wagner (e invadir Polonia).

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and sumptuous, there is something breathtaking on every page of this book. This should be a must-read for every fan of fantasy or mythic graphic novels - or just great storytelling, period.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takes its place in the Pantheon--along with Juanjo Guarnido's Blacksad -- as the most beautifully illustrated graphic novel I've ever read. Can't wait for the third installment.

[Jousef W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, this is a book that is not easy to get, at least the English version, even my comic store only got hands on the second and third book. So I bought the German one.

There is really nothing, nothing at all, that I dislike in this book and there isn't even something or someone that I don't care about. Now granted, it's a very short book and not much is happening with only a handful of characters. But all of these characters are so memorable as they play a huge role in Siegfried's life.

Speaking of which, this book tells the birth of Siegfried's legend from the Nibelung saga composed by Richard Wagner. Some of the names and story plots were slightly changed which is fine, it's a comic book. If you haven't heard about the Nibelung saga, go read about it, listen to the music, it's very interesting.

As I mentioned before, there are only a handful of characters you know about in this book. Fafnir, the Nibelung that now owns the gold which gives him knowledge and wisdom and that turned into a dragon, Mime, the Nibelung blacksmith that found Siegfried and raised him, Odin, the god of all gods, a Valkyrie that wants to find out about Siegfried, and Siegfried himself of course. I love the way everyone is being portrayed in this version of the saga. Everyone seems to have an agenda, a goal, and/or a meaning in this story. Siegfried's up-and-coming is very straight-forward and never gets dull at any time. Mime being the comic relief is a perfect contrast to the overall feel of this book.

The art by Alex Alice is incredible. I've said that a lot and I start to lose faith in the meaning of this word but this time I really mean it. The detail in each panel, the colors that were being used, the way the characters look (especially the Nibelung) is very interesting, you really get the mysterious legendary epic vibe just from the art. I usually dislike two-page spreads because I hate to break the back of a book, I know, I'm weird about this. But here the spreads were perfectly drawn so that I didn't really have to break anything. Very beautiful, I really took my time looking at every single detail.

The story is the story that we (Germans) have learned in school, well most of it I forgot already but I remember listening to a Medieval band that performed this live at my school. Now, there's just a little nuances that are different. I love the pace of the story very much of this first volume. I'm definitely interested to read the other two books.

All in all, this is one of my favorite book. The art alone is worth every penny this book costs. The way the story is being told is very clever and kept me hooked until the end. I can't wait to read the rest!

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fair warning, it's nigh on impossible to get an English copy of this now. I bought the third volume for my sister a few years ago without realising it was the third and we've been hunting this down ever since – for good reason. This is an excellent adaption of the story, with brilliant visuals.

This version of the story, according to the interview with the author at the end, is partly based on the Völsunga saga (which I'm the most familiar with) and the Nibelungenlied, but mostly on the Wagner operas, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) and even then quite a lot has been changed. The story is still essentially the same, just streamlined for a three volume comic and adapted to reduce the amount of time dedicated to things like explaining Siegfried's parentage. Considering how complicated the three main sources are by themselves, never mind combined, I can get behind that.

The comic takes the story of the saga from being grounded in actual Nordic life, to one set in a more mythic 'time'. The gods are getting involved in things, the lands are separated on Yggdrasil, dragons are literally dragons, etc, and that's absolutely my thing. The visuals for these elements are top notch, too - ehe non-human aspects of gods and monsters are really well presented and it makes it obvious that these characters don't operate by normal rules or view the world the way the human characters do. It also has my absolute new favourite visual interpretation of the valkyries, and in many ways reminded me of Alan Lee's illustrations for Lord of the Rings.

In the interview at the end, Alice writes: "the feeling of being at once coherent and incomprehensible is part of myth... we feel a meaning, a coherence, but it resists rational approach" which perfectly sums up why I loved the introduction to this story. It's disjointed, with a nice nod to the verbal history of mythology by making much of it a retelling of events, and the slightly off imagery about the gods makes the whole thing feel otherworldly. In contrast, the moments where Siegfried is simply being a young boy look (the colour palettes and even framing, to an extent) and read completely differently, and are very grounded. When he starts becoming more of the hero we expect him to be then it shifts again into being more otherworldly.

If you're into otherworldly, mythic stories presented in a new and exciting way, keep an eye out on second hand websites and Amazon for this!

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young half-mortal boy grows up without knowing his real parents, in the care of a master blacksmith, Mime, from the underworld of the Nibelungs. The only way to truly discover his human heritage is to slay the great beast, Fafnir, and take the gold which will give him all knowledge. Odin has declared that no one can help Siegfried on his quest, and the blacksmith Mime is full of treachery. But one Valkyrie seems determined to help from the shadows.

I did not like the violence and blood in this one, but I guess I should have expected that considering the cover. I liked the story about the gods and goddesses and the dawn of the world. I was interested in how Siegfried grows up as a young boy full of anger, and becomes a man full of anger. Siegfried's character is very intense, but not as complex as I had expected. Perhaps he will have some further character development in the rest of the volumes in the series. He spends most of this book arguing with his guardian and fighting wolves.

The artwork is really beautiful and uses colors and shadows to show the emotions and action in the panels. I loved the designs of the characters, their facial expressions, clothing, and general appearance are full of energy and emotion. There are some gorgeous backgrounds and the setting of the forest is exquisite.

I was disappointed that only half of this book is the actual graphic novel, and the other half is an interview with the author and some sketch art. I was expecting a much longer story, giving the size of the book.

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Start of the epic story. Only thing I feel sorry for after reading this book is that author could not make a full featured animated movie. What a feast for the eyes that would be.

Drawn in the style that reminds me greatly of Disney but also Fox's Titan AE. When you look at these drawings everything looks so easy, drawn without effort.... true masterpiece.

For the majestic way of story telling just look at the intro pages where we see Siegfried's parents and their fate. Told across 5 pages (if I am not wrong could be more) and without a single uttered word. Pictures speak for themselves. Cadres, flow..... it is just .... beautifully drawn.

As one of the reviewers mentioned this volume is not in US but European format, meaning 90 pages of story and rest are special extra and commentaries from the author (followed by additional sketches and movie art (I guess from trailer)). I had no issues with this but maybe some other readers might.

All in all beautifully drawn epic fantasy. Recommended to anyone interested in fine art.

[Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the art and the story on this one. The first volume comes with a set of interviews with Alice and it seemed like he had a huge dream of making it into an animated movie that kinda fell apart. It's always impressive when someone has a lot of passion for a project though. And his particularly story starts with being wowed by Wagner and transferring the feeling of the music into a graphic format where the stilted versions of the operatic acting didn't cut it for him. I think that's something my generation could relate to.

At any rate, it has both comic and grand epic elements, all with a archetypical hero's journey (of course the plot is pretty faithfully adapted). Some neat influences along the way in the art. I'd definitely read more if my library had the other volumes.

[Janne Paananen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nibelungein lauluun pohjautuva sarjakuvatrilogian avaus, Siegfried, asettaa askelmerkit tuleville tapahtumille. Siegfrid ei tiedä jumalaisesta syntyperästään, eikä rotunsa muista jäsenistä. Ensimmäisen osassa tämä hänelle valkenee.

Siegfrid alkaa sekavasti. Värikylläiset ja isot kollaasiaukeamat ovat turhan tuhteja paketteja. Muutoin jälki on erittäin hienoa ja sivujen edetessä juonen koukerotkin alkavat aueta.

Ei mitenkään tasapainoisin teos, mutta riittävän hyvä, että tarttunen seuraaviinkiin osiin.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

As graphic novels go, not a great volume. Short, overfull with contextual info (did not read, it's probably quite interesting) in place of the content I came for. The end of the volume is more what the end of the first 20 pages should have felt like. It had me primed for the world, characters, plot, but not enough to wait for more. It needed more chapters in this volume. In the end it was interesting enough to read, but if I never continue the series, I won't be too bothered.

[Robert Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself is short, and half the book features a long interview with the creator, Alex Alice, which really doesn't interest me. However, the interview is punched up with quite a lot of conceptual material for the multimedia juggernaut Mr. Alice dreams Siegfried may become. The story itself is interesting, telling the ancient tale of Siegfried, mostly from the viewpoint of the Norse pantheon and the Nibelung. The artwork is pretty.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alex Alicen "Siegfried" (Zoom Teufel, 2016) aloittaa sarjakuvatrilogian, joka pohjautuu Nibelungein lauluun tai ainakin lainaa aineksia siitä (myönnän auliisti yleissivistymättömyyteni, tiedän mistä puhutaan mutten tunne yksityiskohtia). Sarjakuva on visuaalisesti ihan komea, mutta kokonaisuutena tarinan kaksi ensimmäistä osaa (joista toinen on Valkyyria) eivät ole ihan minun teekupilliseni.

[Josée · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is gorgeous and I'm not surprised there was first a film. Now, I don't know much about Siegfried in terms of mythology, but it hardly matters here because I loved the story anyways. It's just too short for my liking, since half of the book is comprised of interviews and extra art work... but, it's a very visually impactful graphic novel and I'm happy to pick up the next one.

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

EN
It's quite hard for me to enjoy graphic books sometimes, but I really liked this one! The illustrations and the colors are gorgeous, and the retelling is really good!

FR
J'ai parfois du mal à apprécier pleinement les BDs, pourtant j'ai beaucoup aimé celle-ci ! Les graphismes et les couleurs sont superbes, la réécriture est top !

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually, I read Vol. 1 + Vol. 2. I don't read a lot of Graphic Novels but as a lover of Wagner's Ring and the Norse sources, I couldn't pass this up. Like Wagner, this is a his own version of these myths. Which is fine. I have a preference for the French ones, because of the art styles. Of these two, I prefer Vol. 1, because of that. So I'm giving it 4 stars, instead of my usual 3.

[Kazima · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic tale powerfully rendered with beautiful illustrations. Loved it!
Denne er også tilgjengelig på norsk på Outland fra Outland Forlag! Anbefales til alle som liker vakre tegneserier og klassisk fantasy.