The Ring of the Nibelung Book 2: Siegfried & Gotterdammerung: The Twilight of the Gods [Paperback]

P. Craig Russell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ring of the Nibelung | Publication Date: July 19, 2002

The ultimate adaptation of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle concludes with these elaborate and faithful renditions of Siegfried and Gotterdammerung: The Twilight of the Gods. Siegfried is separated from his love, the Valkyrie Brunhilde, and even the All-Father himself cannot make things right. In the stunning conclusion, all of creation hangs in the balance because of gods meddling in the affairs of man — all over the gold of the Rhinemaids. In this massive undertaking, P. Craig Russell has created a living, breathing version of the Ring Cycle that Richard Wagner could only have dreamed of executing in his day.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (July 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569717346
• ISBN-13: 978-1569717349
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #681,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Adaption of the Ring cycle, July 26, 2002

By 

"ook98105" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ring of the Nibelung Book 2: Siegfried & Gotterdammerung: The Twilight of the Gods (Paperback)

This is a beautifully illustrated and translated two-book comic adaption of Wagner's Ring cycle. P. Craig Russell's defends his belief that he could translate the opera music into images and create a powerful fantasy saga. The art is fantastic: Russell draws beautiful panels - the covers of these two books are a great example of the art inside. The translation into English is melodramatic (well, it's opera) and powerful. I can't praise these books enough. This is my favorite graphic story since I read, and re-read, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, and these two volumes will be accompanying me on all my future moves.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A ringing success, March 20, 2008

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Ring of the Nibelung Book 2: Siegfried & Gotterdammerung: The Twilight of the Gods (Paperback)

Russell, more than any other comic artist, shows that the "super hero" genre is hardly a new phenomenon, and hardly limited to adolescents. The characters of western mythology have come down through thousands of years. They've been adapted again and again, in painting, sculpture, and every other art - including opera. Just as Wagner did and many before him, Russell adapts these stories to contemporary media and storytelling forms.

The adaptation isn't such a stretch as you might imagine. Opera's music comes to mind, of course. But people attend live opera for the spectacle, too, maybe even more than for the music. The comic medium can't capture the music on paper, but stories work well, and artists like Russell can create imagery that stagecraft can only dream of. Russell's fine linework and dramatic palettes capture the spectacle and the story both, creating a rich and enveloping reading experience.

Old stories need to be retold in every generation, or forgotten. Russell draws a fine comic and does a great job at adapting the operatic form to prose narration. More than that, he brings these masterpieces of the Western canon to a reading audience that would never sit still for the opera itself or even a rendering in prose. Perhaps this isn't the "right" kind of cultural literacy - but, if you feel that way, would you rather see the stories ignored altogether?

-- wiredweird

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Adaption of the Grandest Opera, September 21, 2004

By 

Chris (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ring of the Nibelung Book 2: Siegfried & Gotterdammerung: The Twilight of the Gods (Paperback)

This comic book is superb! Graig Russell treats such a complex opera with great sincerity and skill, the characters and themes fit the music perfectly. Yes, there is no such thing as a perfect performance of ring cycle, but there is certainly a perfect comic book for the work.Do grab it when it is still available! This book is one of a kind, it will stay with you for years to come.