The Ring of the Nibelung, Vol. 1

The Ring of the Nibelung #1-2

by P. Craig Russell

A multiple Eisner Award winner, P. Craig Russell's adaptation of the Ring cycle by German composer Richard Wagner is about to be collected in a handsome two-volume set. Volume One, with new introductions and behind-the-scenes production art, presents The Rhinegold and The Valkyrie. The magical gold of the Rhine maidens is stolen, leading to a twisted story of vengeance and betrayal. The tainted product of the theft, a simple ring, perverts the will of everyone it comes in contact with, from the most lowly hunchback to the father of the Gods. Read the original tale of the cursed Ring, as adapted by one of comics' finest creators, P. Craig Russell.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Music, Mythology, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Philip Craig Russell was the first mainstream comic book creator to come out as openly gay. Since 1972 his work has won multiple Kirby, Harvey, and Eisner Awards, and Cartoon Crossroads Columbus presented him the Master Cartoonist Award in 2019.

Reviews

[Greta G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent and fairly faithful adaptation for comics of Wagner’s epic cycle of operas The Rhinegold (Das Rheingold), The Valkyrie (Die Walküre), Siegfried and The Twilight of the Gods (Götterdämmerung). Wagner wrote his magnum opus, which is based on Norse sagas, over the course of about twenty-six years, from 1848 to 1874. It was first performed as a cycle in 1876. The author, award-winning artist and storyteller P. Craig Russell, planned this graphic novel adaptation as his career opus, working nearly 20 years until its completion.

“With seven notes Wagner teases us into thought and propels the action of the story. My challenge was to convey the same information in a way as unique to the visual form as Wagner’s was to the musical.”

From this:


Came this:


I’ve neither a strong interest in opera nor in fantasy, but Russell managed to hold my attention and admiration till the very end. Listening to Wagner’s famous ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ (https://youtu.be/P73Z6291Pt8) will never feel the same again.

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, unlike many of the reviewers, I am utterly and completely ignorant of Wagner's opera on which this and the next volume are based. I know nothing about opera. Nothing against it, but it's simply an art form I have no interest in.

However, P. Craig Russell is one of those seminal comic book artists that I will pretty much buy on sight. I've been a fan since he and Roy Thomas gave me my first introduction to Elric, and I've followed Russell's work since, and I don't think I've ever been disappointed.

That said, I don't think, in all the incredible work he's produced since that Elric adaptation, that he's blown me away again like his has with this. This, I think, is Russell's masterwork. The art is utterly gorgeous, yet it never gets in the way of the storytelling, which is a skill less and less comic artists seem to possess these days.

But what about the story? I'll leave it to others to debate how close he stayed to the original, or how good or bad his changes were. Coming into this cold, I can only say I was impressed and delighted with what's turning out to be a very classic tale of the gods that also seems to scoop up elements (or the authors of these works stole liberally from the opera) of Norse mythology, Thor comics, the Lord of the Rings, King Arthur's mythology... honestly, it kind of feels like the original fantasy tale that everything else was spawned from.

I am excited to dive into the second, final volume.

[Hosein · Rating 5 out of 5]

تا اینجا واقعا فوق‌العاده بود. قطعا یه ریویوی طولانی مینویسم وقتی تمومش کردم.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG the art on this is just beautiful and fits the story perfectly. Amazing telling of this classic Norse myth. Very recommended

[Vasilis Manias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Το βιβλίο "το Δαχτυλίδι των Νιμπελούγκεν" αποτελεί μία τετραλογία κόμικ βασισμένη στο έργο του Βάγκνερ που αφηγείται στο πρώτο του μισό το μύθο που επίκεντρο έχει τον θεό Οντίν και τις Βαλκυρίες και στο δεύτερο αυτόν του μυθικού ηρωα Ζίγκφριντ και του έρωτά του με την ατιμασμένη Βαλκυρία, Μπρουκχίλντε.

Εξαιρετική δουλειά, διασκεδαστικότερο, γεμάτο φανταχτερά σχέδια και χρώματα, μία απίθανη απεικόνιση της Μυθολογίας των Βορείων και μία πρώτη γνωριμία με ένα χρυσό, ανεκτίμητο, "precious" δαχτυλίδι που θέλουν να αποκτήσουν όλοι ανεξαρτήτως της κατάρας που κουβαλάει.

Το λάτρεψα.

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent adaptation of the opera. I really enjoy Russell's approach here and revisiting this was a blast.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Αν και δεν ξετρελαίνομαι με το στιλ του Ράσελ που μου θυμίζει πιο στιλιζαρισμένα "κλασικά εικονογραφημένα", το σκίτσο έχει τις στιγμές του και κάποια καρέ σε αυτό τον πρώτο τόμο είναι πανέμορφα. Ενώ ξέρω ότι βελτιώνεται στους επόμενους τόμους, δεν μπορώ να πω ότι με έχει κερδίσει ακόμα αν και σαν γραμμή είναι επαρκής για να πλαισιώσει τόσο δυνατή υπόθεση.

Τώρα για την ιστορία δεν μπορούν να ειπωθούν πολλά. Ως θαυμαστής του έργου του Τόλκιν δεν θα μπορούσα παρά να εκτιμήσω το έργο από το οποίο εμπνεύστηκε, πόσο μάλλον σε εικονογραφημένη μορφή. Συγχαρητήρια σίγουρα του αξίζουν για το εγχείρημα (και απ΄ότι βλέπω έχει προσαρμόσει σε κόμικ κάμποσες όπερες μεταξύ των οποίων και μια προσωπική αγαπημένη, ο "Μαγικός Αυλός"), θέλει πολύ υπομονή και αφοσίωση, ίσως και θράσος θα έλεγε κάποιος, για να ακουμπήσεις τέτοια έργα τέχνης. Πόσο μάλλον για ένα καλαίσθητο αποτέλεσμα όπως αυτό.

Συνεχίζω με τον τόμο 2/4.

[Marquise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb adaptation, with top notch art and faithfulness to the opera original! Try to read these graphic novel adaptation of Wagner's rendition with the opera music playing in the background, as I did. The sensory experience is amazing and unique, you can get wholly immersed in the world of the Ring through your ears (the music) and your eyes (the graphic novel).

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A master class in comic book storytelling and a timeless mythic tale.

[Quranman2001 · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first started reading this book, I didn't realize it was about Norse mythology. I started noticing that some names like Loge and fricka sounded familiar, and then it hit me. I didn't even realise the characters were Gods at first! I went into this almost completely blind. The plot is a bit similiar to lord of rings, with Alberich being Gollum, and Fafnir being Smaug. The art in the book at first looks like your typical western comic, but when you pay attention, you notice it actually has it's own distinct style. I love how they showed Voton ( how Odin is spelled in this book) eye, instead of covering it with a patch or his hair, like in most depictions. It just shows how such a savage world that even gods are vulnerable in, Norse mythology is. Speaking of that, the tone of this graphic novel... I love-hate it. Everyone is so down to earth with everything and it's so pessimistic, just like the Norse mythology it's based on. The Dialogue was spot on, though, it felt so musical. The only thing bad I didn't like about the art was how Brunhilde was drawn... She her facial expression most of the time was so blank, and it made her look stupid. Really stupid. Overall, it was a great book, I would certainly read it again, it was perfectly done. The parts that touched me the most are when fafnir killed his brother, and just left his body there, so coldly with not a care, and how voton was willing to sell freya to the giants, like she was property. I thought that was just disgusting. I thought as much for the whole banishing brunhilde part, and siegmund and sieglinde's incest-mance....ewww.....

To conclude, i would reccomend this to everyone who loved a good, Emotional story!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

By sheer chance, the kid wanted me to read this to him. And so I did.
I bypassed the introduction wherein Mr.Russell explains how he adapted the libretto for the Wagner operas for the graphic novel.
I had my doubts, and here and there, I wonder if he should've stuck so close to the libretto and just used the operas as a jump-off point.
Still, I've loved the work of P. Craig Russell since he freaked me out when I was 9 or 10 when I snuck a reading of my brother's Epic Illustrated: the issue featured an adaptation of Michael Moorcock's "The Dreaming City" which featured Elric of Melnibone. I'm not a fan of Neo-Romanticism, but his work moved me.
Wagner's mythicisim certainly suits Russell. Both are bold and dramatic and delight in rapturous indulgences.

[Michael Haase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, beautiful, incredible, indispensable. Even those words fail to do justice to this masterpiece. Before I discovered this gem, I never believed Wagner's Ring Cycle could have been so perfectly adapted. Better than any film or stage performance, these illustrations capture all the fantasy and emotion without betraying any of the nuances or subtleties of the opera, and the dialogue is taken straight from the libretto itself, so that even the lyricism of Wagner's work is translated here.

Although Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen was specifically designed for opera, it was also held back by it, constraint by the skill of the many actors and musicians involved, the limited resources of the venue, the scope of the director, the mood of the participants, and many other factors besides. None of that here. The only limit here is the skill and imagination of the artist, and there was certainly no lack for either of those.

Kudos to the artist, P. Craig Russell, and to everyone else in involved as well for creating a masterful tribute to a masterful piece of art.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Nibelung forges a ring from the Rhine maidens' gold, but has it stolen by the god Wotan who seeks to trade it for Freia's freedom from the giants - yet the greed it laces within his heart will lead to the slow crumbling of their realms, as siblings embrace and his own blessed children defy his commands. Russell, Mason, Kindzierski and Showman deliver a wondrous adaptation of the titular opera, its fine translation and beautiful illustrations flowing and enveloping readers on every page. How far will the curse of the ring reach?

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this not knowing anything about it or Wagner's opera so took it at face value.
I found the dialogue stilted, the story uninteresting and the artwork lacking. The introduction was pretentious and so full of its own self-importance I nearly didn't read the book.

Having learned this is translated then adapted from the opera that tells the Norse Mythology of Valhalla, I was a little more forgiving but still felt this could have benefitted from a few more washes through the spin of adaptation.

I suppose I'm glad I read it, if only to have another excuse not to go see the opera.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knowing only as much as one could learn from Bugs Bunny cartoons, I am a novice at opera. I learned a lot from this, not only about opera, but also about comics. Looking forward to the second half.

[Nassia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[rodriperez121 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3’5 ⭐️

[Samhith Kakarla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was great as it was packed with action. There is one character Hira. I think that she would make a great lawyer or judge. This is because she defies her own dad/ the king to do what’s right even though she has swore to loyally execute his will, come what may.

[Carlos Eguren · Rating 5 out of 5]

208/365

Mi historia con este cómic es muy especial. Fue uno de los primeros que leí, siendo un crío, ya que fue un regalo de Navidad en una época en la que amaba "El Señor de los Anillos" por encima de todas las cosas. Este cómic es una adaptación de la ópeta de Wagner (ahí supe de Wagner, la ópera y querer invadir Polonia, como diría Woody Allen), basada en la leyenda de Sigfrido y, aunque no fue una base para la obra de Tolkien según el profesor, sí que encontré docenas de elementos comunes que me fascinaron.
Ahora, casi veinte años después, he vuelto a releer el primer tomo (en su día me quedé por ahí) y me dispongo por fin a continuarlo con los siguientes y saber cómo termina esta historia sobre el auge y la caída de los dioses nórdicos. Todo empieza con un enano que renuncia al amor, un oro maldito que es robado y con el que se forjará un anillo para gobernar el mundo, mientras los dioses como Wotan se enfrentan a la vejez tras "vender" a una de sus hermanas a dos gigantes y la única forma de arreglarlo será cubrir a estos monstruos del oro maldito. Para ello, Wotan contará con el semidiós del fuego y las mentiras Loge. Es el inicio... del fin.
A nivel de historia, resucita mi fascinación por los clásicos y la mitología (su nivel de magia, entretenimiento, complejidad... su modo de dar respuesta a nuestras dudas existenciales), y, a nivel de dibujo, me encanta el estilo de Russell, sobre todo cuando dibuja a un Loge que parece dispuesto a saltar de las páginas y llegar a nuestra propia realidad.
En definitiva, ¡qué estupendo es volver a los mitos que embriagaron nuestra juventud con historias imposibles!

[Caleb Dolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel was very well put together and I like the way that the characters were put into the story. The story line is great and the plot is very well set out. It was kind of hard to get into the novel though for me. Usually being a reader, graphic novels to me are easy to follow and understand the story line. Yet for me this novel was a little harder to get into and enjoy it while reading it for some reason, but that did not take away from the story itself. I really enjoyed the characters, because they were believable for the story. I like how the Lord of The Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien is based off of this story. And the novel lets you kind of understand how mortals or humans interacted with the Gods and how they were influenced by them in their daily routines. What I loved about the graphic novel though was the artwork in the novel. The drawings and pictures were beautiful and they were stunning to look at. The art was a great guide to help the text in the book. I loved the colors and the style that the artist and author used to create the book. The novel was a very quick read and even though it was not as easy as a read as I expected, it still turned out to be a reader pleaser. The book was very well put together and overall a great story. Enjoy your read, I know I did.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was always curious about the Wagner's ring saga, just not enough to sit through a week's worth of 3-4 hour opera episodes which I probably wouldn't even understand. Thank you, Mr. Russell, for making this enjoyable saga a visual journey.

I've been a fan of P. Craig Russel's art ever since he drew Michael Moorcock's Elric back in the 80's. His images give a very otherworldly feel, appropriate for the telling of myth.

As a writer of comics myself, I'm impressed with some of the techniques he utilizes, like dialogue balloons on one page with pointers to a character on the previous. His flashbacks are beautiful uncolored pencils. And a mix of open and filled gutters help with the logical grouping and pacing of frames.

Being a huge Tolkien fan, I was surprised and interested in how many elements were borrowed for Lord of the Rings either from the operas or the Norse sagas and characters the operas were based upon. The stories are different but the similar elements surprised me. There is of course the ring itself, a ring of power which craved by all who do not have it and guarded jealously by the one who does. We have Wagners 9 riders (the Valkyrie) versus Tolkien's darker 9 Nazgul. And of course the Dwarves are there in both books burrowing in the ground, mining for riches and forging their treasures.

Right then. Onto volume 2.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gods and dwarves, giants and mortals, live, love, fight, and die, all inextricably bound by the curse of the ring. As one would expect of an adaptation based on an opera there is plenty of drama. The incestuous love between Siegmund and Sieglunde, the divisiveness of the gods, and the quick wits of the trickster Loge are just some of the examples. Because the original was an opera, the Ring of the Nibelung already had a strong structure, flowing pace, and themes to connect the whole. The one major component that the graphic novel cannot replicate is the music. Yet somehow, Russell not only takes all the above-mentioned elements into consideration, his talented hand is even able to instill a sense of the music. Emotions remain powerful because of the colours, symbolism, composition, and lyrical words. Next to the magical colours of the divine realm, the human realm's hues are more down-to-earth. His usual detailed style utilizes highly emotive faces, and theatrical deep shadows to punctuate events. Tying all the segmented plots together are the themes of power, love, and greed which drive these tragic characters. Whereas few succeed in adapting books to the graphic novel format, Russell has created a masterpiece using the more difficult and subjective source material, opera.

[Orrin Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been on something of a P. Craig Russell kick lately, mostly reading little bits and short pieces, but I finally got around to trying the first volume of his "career-defining opus" Ring of the Nibelung.

While I am, of course, familiar with the story (and so is anyone who's read or seen Lord of the Rings), this is actually my first direct exposure to the saga, and it was interesting to note the ways that it was similar and different from what I'd come to expect.

It was also just really good. Russell has a lot of experience adapting opera into comic book form, and he does a good job of it, retaining things like leitmotifs while also making a very readable comic book story. If someone's going to have a "career-defining opus," this is how to do it, and I'll definitely be checking out the second volume.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

P. Craig Russell tackles what is unarguably a difficult subject with a wonderful approach. This, coupled with the second volume, makes the Ring Cycle so understandable. He also works well with the illustrator in carrying over enough of the visual qualities of the opera to give a sense of the symbols that would have been used to convey ideas on stage. He also quotes directly from the source, with an accurate (and accessible) translation. I have only re-read this a couple of times, but comprehend more and more of its metaphors and meaning each time I crack it open. Very useful for comparing with other 'versions' such as Beowulf and the Volsungsaga.

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

P. Craig Russell's art is absolutely lovely, rich and lively. Each character's personality is clear on their face and in their movements - and there's something in the drama of the landscapes and figures that lend themselves perfectly to this rendition of Wagner's Ring Cycle.

I especially liked that this volume had some front matter concerning the artist's process in adapting opera to a graphic novel, and I especially enjoyed the few studies and sketches included. I also found that reading this (and volume two, of course) made for much easier understanding of the operas themselves, as I was less worried about misunderstanding what was going on if I couldn't read along fast enough.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

P. Craig Russell takes risks and you can tell when one of his books is a labor of love.
He does both in this adaptation of an Opera... who knew you could sell Opera to comic book fans? Well, apparently P. Craig Russell did and he gives us fans a beautiful book with fantastic art.
I don't think I've ever been dissapointed in one of the books he's adapted, and I'll continue to be a fan of his for as long as he keeps em coming or for as long as I'm still around. Whicever comes first, place your bets folks.
He also takes risks with his "Night Music" graphic novels, but that's a review for another day.

[Terence Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing project and the artwork is sumptuous.The story is presented with clarity and depth as well as beauty.I am reading it because,like many people,I have only a vague idea of the general outline of the story, as I know some episodes fairly well while I am completely ignorant of others.For example I knew the history of the making of the ring and of the curse,but I was totally ignorant of the story of Siegmund and Sieglinde.This is a good opportunity to get clear on the whole story in an enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing form.

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comic book, believe it or not, gets the closest to what Wagner would have liked his epic Ring Cycle to look like. To read it properly, you really need to put the music on and listen to it as you read. Remarkably faithful to the opera and stunning to look at.

[Jean-Pierre Vidrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Believe it or not, this is one of three comic book adaptations of Wagner's opera I have read, and it is by far the best. You can almost hear the music as you gaze upon Russell's illustrations. Even stage productions would be hard pressed to equal this.

[Ahimsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this less the more I read of it. The saga of the Volsungs is deservedly an epic, but by adapting Wagner's iteration of it, Russell skews this comic into soap opera territory. The epic story feels rushed and often contrived and only really slows down for melodrama.
Not my cuppa.