The Ring of the Nibelung (P. Craig Russell)

The Ring of the Nibelung is the comic adaptation of German composer Richard Wagner's 1876 four-part opera.

Part 1: The Rhinegold
Alberich the dwarf steals the rhinegold from the mermaids guarding it.  The gold, when fashioned into a ring, promises to grant the bearer rule of the world- but that person must first swear off love.  Alberich does so and enslaves the Nibelungs to dig ever more treasure out of Nibelheim, to increase his fortune. The god Voton, meanwhile, has a problem: he promised the giants his wife's beautiful sister for their work building Valhalla.  To get out of that contract, he works with the demigod Loge to steal the Ring of the Nibelung and grant it to the giant Fafnir instead.

Part 2: Valkyrie
Voton has fathered Siegmund and Sieglinde, siblings separated as children who later become lovers when the latter leaves her husband.  Fricka, Voton's wife and the goddess of marriage, calls on Voton to avenge this wrong, and Voton turns to his dearest daughter- Brumhilde, the Valkyrie- to do so.  Brumhilde disobeys and allows Siegmund to live, forcing Voton to slay him.  Brumhilde then flees with Sieglinde- now with child- and hides her near Fafnir, who has turned himself into a dragon and accumulated vast treasure.  Voton tracks the Valkyrie down, banishes her, and curses her with long sleep, to be awoken by the first to find her.  In a last act of compassion, he guards her by a ring of fire that only the bravest can enter.

Part 3: Siegfried
Sieglinde dies in childbirth, so Siegfried is raised by Fife, a blacksmith and ugly dwarf (who is also Alberich's brother).  Siegfried knows no fear, and is so powerful he keeps breaking swords created by Fife, so he makes his own by re-making Nothung, a powerful sword wielded by his father.  He uses Nothung to slay Fafnir and claim the ring for himself.  He then enters the ring of fire to find and woe Brumhilde (who is his half-aunt, if I'm following correctly).  And he breaks Voton's staff, on which are countless treaties and agreements and (I think) the source of at least some of the god's power.

Part 4: Götterdämmerung

Siegfried leaves Brumhilde to go off around the Earth, saving any in distress.  But little does he know what's in store . . . Hagen, son of Alberich, is half-brother to Gunther, who is single and desires a wife.  Hagen convinces him to trick Siegfried into drinking a potion that makes him forget Brumhilde, and he falls in love with Gunther's sister instead.  He even agrees to help Gunther get Brumhilde as his own wife.  And in Valhalla, Voton's power is waning- the gods are falling. Only by tossing the ring back into the Rhine can the the curse be broken.  Long story short, Siegfried is stabbed in the back by Hagen, who desires the ring.  But then Siegfried is laid on a funeral pyre and Brumhilde comes and burns herself too, and the ring ends up back in the Rhine.

Review
Steeped in Norse mythology, wildly popular at one time in Germany, and an obvious inspiration for The Lord of the Rings, this was a a reasonably enjoyable tale that grew increasingly bizarre as the story progressed.  I had thought it would be closer to the tale of Siegfried as told in The Rhine Legends- the differences have me wondering which is the 'real' legend.  Back to the book- the art was superb- it almost felt like I was reading an opera.  But, like an opera, I was glad it was over.  A good adaptation can't overcome a less-then-stellar story.

Rating: B