The past year has yielded a number of terrific apps on music including The Orchestra, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and Liszt Sonata in B Minor (all Touch Press). Today's app is a graphic biography of Richard Wagner. A trailer is available. Blaring trumpets, rumbling timpani. Dramatic surges of volume followed by ominous moments of quiet. Nobody has ever accused German composer Richard Wagner of subtlety. The Wagner Files (Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, $1.99; Gr  9 Up), a graphic novel, creates a vivid portrait of the 19th-century composer covering his personal life, political activities, and music from the years 1848 to his death in 1883. The  story is told by the German conductor and composer Hans von Bülow. Loaded with quotes, Wagner emerges from the history as a self-centered, profligate figure who blames his setbacks on conspiracy and sabotage and for whom no praise is ever sufficient. He overspends, cheats on his wife, and constantly repays the kindness of others with selfishness and betrayal. What a relief–a graphic novel biography of a noble, humble classical composer could be terrifically boring.

Interior art, 'The Wagner Files' (Gebrueder Beetz) Scorpia

The art, by Flavia Scuderi, matches the bombastic tone of Wagner's life and music to a tee. Architecture, settings, and costume are beautifully and accurately rendered, while characters gesture dramatically and cast impassioned glances at each other. A narrator with a nice rumbly voice and good pronunciation, backed by colorful music–Wagner's, of course–makes the zoom-and-pan autoplay option a real treat, but users have three other navigation modes to choose from in this long-playing story. Notable extras include etched or photographic portraits of Wagner and his contemporaries, original recordings, and primary documents such as letters, essays, and scores–with translations. An excerpt from his 1866 essay "Judaism in Music" presents Wagner's antisemitic views in his own words.

Plan for the Festival Theatre, 'The Wagner Files' (Gebrueder Beetz )

Also on offer are short (2- to 3-minute) video interviews with Wagner experts from the 2013 documentary "The Wagner Files." These comments, subtitled in English, are more about the music than the man, and offer important perspectives on why his operas are performed and studied to this day. Repellent human being, influential composer–Wagner is a great discussion starter. This app will add fuel to that fire! Available in French, English, Japanese, and German.–Paula Willey, Pink Me