The Ring of the Nibelung

(DC, 1989-1990)
™ and ©1989 DC Comics

(From the Slings & Arrows Comic Guide)

Roy Thomas has always been fond of adapting the works of others, whether they be by R.E. Howard, E.R. Burroughs or Michael Moorcock. This is probably his most daring and, in some respects, his most successful. Few would have attempted Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle—it’s four operas, sixteen hours of theatre and music. Yet Thomas manages to retain a sense of the poetry behind the plot, and Gil Kane’s dynamic artwork brings the fantastic elements to life in ways that the stage couldn’t emulate. Welcomed by opera critics as a faithful vision, Kane’s artwork is perhaps too overwrought in places, but Jim Woodring’s subtle coloring helps to create an appropriately heroic but tragic atmosphere. It can’t really compare to hearing or watching Wagner’s original operas but it’s a worthy attempt to create a comic for a different audience. ~NF

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