Whether you call him Siegfried (in the German The Nibelungenlied) or Sigurd (the Völsunga saga, and the Poetic Edda), it doesn’t really matter. He fights the dragon Fafnir and wins. It is one of the classic myths that lies behind much of Sword & Sorcery. In the original tale, Siegfried is raised by the dwarf smith, Mime, and later slays the dragon. Bathing in its blood, he becomes impenetrable. (Except for that spot where a leaf falls on his back.) Whether you read the tale in old story books illustrated by Arthur Rackham or watch it unfold in a Wagner opera, it doesn’t really matter. This is pure storytelling. So it should be no surprise that comic book artists and writers should want to get in on it.
From the Golden Age to modern comics, this classic character appears and reappears. Being in the public domain helps, but after stunning renditions like P. Craig Russell’s work you’d think that no one would attempt another. This is not the case, with Alex Alice’s French comic of 2007. And we can only assume there will be more versions to come. Like the tales of King Arthur or Robin Hood, the material is re-invented by each generation for new purposes.
“Siegfried and the Dragon” (Stamps Comics #3, February 1952) was written by an unknown author. This four pager does a pretty good job of the basic tale. The Vincent Napoli art is pretty good for the 1950s. Napoli was an illustrator for Weird Tales in the 1930s. He was the artist who rendered Robert E. Howard’s classic The Hour of the Dragon.
Sigurd (Lehning 1953-1965) was written and drawn by Hansrudi Wäscher. Sigurd appeared in hundreds of small comics over the years, with the format of the comic changing occasionally. Published in Germany, Lehning also had other fantasy characters like Falk, Kalar and Lancelot. Having so many issues, Sigurd isn’t stuck in a Wagner tale but becomes an all-purpose Fantasy hero, having many different adventures. In this one, he faces a dragon that is a dinosaur.
Sigurd, el Wikingo (Ediciones Toray, 1958) was written by Mariano Hispano. Again with this Spanish comic, the writer isn’t too worried about adapting the old myth as having a good Sword & Sorcery hero. Jose Ortiz would go on to do Sword & Sorcery comics for Warren.
“Siegfried and the Dragon” (Imagine #6, July 1979, reprinted in Epic Illustrated #2, Summer 1980) was written by P. Craig Russell. Russell experimented through the 1970s with material based on Wagner. He is the first American since Napoli to adapt the original. This short eight-pager is a good taste of what he will do later in the 2000s.
“The Sword of Siegfried” (Thor #297, 298, 299, July-September 1980) was written by Roy Thomas based on Wagner. Roy Thomas is no stranger to Sword & Sorcery, of course. The man behind Conan the Barbarian, he went in a different direction for Thor, sticking closer to Wagner. This three-issue shindig will inspire Thomas to do an actual adaptation nine years later.
The Ring of the Nibelung (DC Comics, 1989-1991) was written by Roy Thomas. Switching companies, Roy is back with a full version of the Ring along with Fantasy master, Gil Kane. Gil was no stranger to Sword & Sorcery either, having done stories in the early 1970s before John Buscema took over, Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword Of Conan, and my favorite, “The Valley of the Worm” for Supernatural Thrillers #3. All that being said, this isn’t my favorite Gil Kane material.
The Ring of the Nibelung (Dark Horse Comics, 2014) was written by Patrick Mason based on Wagner. P. Craig Russell is back, decades later, and wow! Rhinegold, The Valkrie, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung, he does the entire Wagnerian saga in brilliantly rendered art.
Siegfried (Dargaud, 2007) was written and drawn by Alex Alice. And you’d think no one ever did any Siegfried ever again after the titanic work of Russell. But you’d be wrong. Alex Alice did a three volume adaptation that is equally brilliant. Alice’s work is dark and moody in an entirely different way to Russell’s light-looking work.
Conclusion
Mythological comics are an easy win for Sword & Sorcery fans. Whether it’s Hercules, Sinbad or Beowulf or other characters from ancient lore, it means action. Because the old stories were always a nice blend of action and magic. And it’s right there in the name, Sword & Sorcery. Robert E. Howard and J. R. R. Tolkien were both fans of the old tales or “The Northern Thing” if you prefer. Howard was fascinated by his Celtic roots while Tolkien was the authority on Beowulf. Both men brought plenty of the ancient feel to their Fantasy, giving us the two popular branches of heroic fantasy today: Epic Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery.
Next time… the Hercules series of John Gregory Betancourt…
