®

TM

R I C H A R D S O N • S T RA D L E Y • G U L A C Y • R U S S E L L
publisher
MIKE RICHARDSON
series editor
DIANA SCHUTZ
collection editors
CHRIS WARNER and SUZANNE TAYLOR
collection designer
KRISTEN BURDA
special thanks to
ALLAN KAUSCH and LUCY AUTREY WILSON at LUCAS LICENSING

STAR WARS®: CRIMSON EMPIRE

Star Wars © 1998 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. Text and illustrations for Star Wars:
Crimson Empire are © 1998 Lucasfilm Ltd. All other material, unless otherwise specified, © 1998 Dark Horse Comics, Inc.
Dark Horse Books® and the Dark Horse logo are registered trademarks of Dark Horse Comics, Inc. All rights reserved.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without the express written permission
of Dark Horse Comics, Inc. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of
the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions,
or locales, without satiric intent, is coincidental.

This book collects issues one through six of the Dark Horse
comic-book series Star Wars: Crimson Empire.

Dark Horse Books

A division of Dark Horse Comics, Inc.
10956 SE Main Street
Milwaukie, OR 97222

DarkHorse.com

First edition: December 1998

ISBN: 978-1-56971-355-6

10 9 8 7

Printed at Midas Printing International, Ltd., Huizhou, China

Mike Richardson President and Publisher • Neil Hankerson Executive Vice President • Tom Weddle Chief Financial
Officer • Randy Stradley Vice President of Publishing • Michael Martens Vice President of Book Trade Sales •
Anita Nelson Vice President of Business Affairs • Micha Hershman Vice President of Marketing • David Scroggy
Vice President of Product Development • Dale LaFountain Vice President of Information Technology • Darlene
Vogel Senior Director of Print, Design, and Production • Ken Lizzi General Counsel • Davey Estrada Editorial
Director • Scott Allie Senior Managing Editor • Chris Warner Senior Books Editor • Diana Schutz Executive Editor
• Cary Grazzini Director of Print and Development • Lia Ribacchi Art Director • Cara Niece Director of Scheduling
 Crimson Empire
It is a time of turmoil. The last of the
Emperor Palpatine’s clones has been
destroyed by the Rebel Skywalker and
his allies, and control of the Empire is up for
grabs. A temporary ruling Council has
formed behind the scenes to maintain order,
but the Council itself is splintered — divided by
the conflicting ambitions of its members.
Intrigue, deception, and betrayal are
commonplace as those who would replace the
Emperor pursue their goals.

One man, Carnor Jax, holds sway over the
Council. He knows the secrets about the members of
the ruling body that could destroy their control and
further weaken the Empire. He uses this knowledge
to force the creation of a special position for himself
within the Council.

Jax’s plan is actually much more ambitious than the

Council members know: he seeks to position himself as a
new Dark Lord — with the aid of the equally ambitious
General Wessel — and eventually ascend to Palpatine’s throne.

One other knows the Council’s secrets — and Jax’s ambitions.

Hiding on the Galaxy’s outer edges, he bides his time, awaiting
his chance to destroy them all . . .
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 MIKE RICHARDSON
Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson’s achievements are almost too numerous
to list. Mike opened his first comics specialty store in 1980 and eventually
expanded it into a thriving chain with stores in three states. Mike added comics
publishing to his résumé and turned what began as a backroom operation into
one of the most successful comics companies of the ’90s. As Dark Horse
prospered, Mike created Dark Horse Entertainment as a means to branch into
other mediums. Projects such as The Mask and Timecop have pushed the worldwide
box office of DHE films past half a billion dollars. Mike’s many talents also
encompass the writing of comics, including hit series such as Boris the Bear,
Aliens: Newt’s Tale, and now Crimson Empire.

Randy Stradley has served as both writer and editor on some of the most

RANDY STRADLEY
acclaimed and successful comics series of the past decade. But his first job in
the industry was writing fill-in issues of Star Wars for Marvel Comics in 1983.
After fourteen years of writing comics, including the record-smashing Aliens vs.
Predator miniseries, Randy returned to Star Wars with Crimson Empire. Randy
worked closely with Mike Richardson to shape the series, adding numerous
twists and surprises. A confirmed Godzilla fanatic, Randy is one of the industry’s
most articulate and passionate advocates for bringing fun back into the medium.
As Director of Editorial of Dark Horse, his thoughts on the comics world can be
found in The Finish Line, featured each month throughout Dark Horse’s diverse
catalog of titles.

Paul Gulacy burst upon the comics scene with his landmark run on Marvel
Comics’ Master of Kung-Fu. Paul’s cinematic visuals turned a lightly regarded
title into the most talked-about book of its day. Paul then chose to produce his

PAUL GULACY
own material long before creator-owned comics became fashionable. The result
was the first American graphic novel, Sabre (co-created by Don McGregor).
Paul’s passion for science-fiction then fueled the popular creator-owned
miniseries, Six From Sirius (with Doug Moench), cementing his position as one
of the industry’s most distinctive and influential talents. Though his skills have
long been in demand outside of comics (as for the animated series Aeon Flux),
Paul has continued to produce eye-popping comics visuals on such diverse
projects as The Terminator, James Bond, and Batman vs. Predator II. Though Crimson
Empire is his first foray into the Star Wars mythos, his dazzling work graces a
followup series, Crimson Empire II.

Few creators in comics are as universally respected as P. Craig Russell, whose

powerful, sophisticated graphics have long been the envy of readers and
P. CRAIG RUSSELL
professionals around the globe. After creating a sizable following for his work
on Marvel’s Killraven, Craig became the definitive visual interpreter of Michael
Moorcock’s brooding sorcerer-king Elric, a character to whom Craig has returned
in projects for Epic, First, Eclipse, Topps, and Dark Horse. His consuming interest
in mythology, fairy tales, and opera has fueled an astonishing body of adaptations
including Parsifal, The Magic Flute, Salome, The Jungle Book, I Pagliacci (titled The
Clowns), and Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde. His inspired collaboration with writer Neil
Gaiman on Sandman #50 won numerous industry awards and stands as arguably
the finest hour of that acclaimed title. Craig is one of the most sought-after
inkers in today’s market, having served on Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire before
joining Crimson Empire. Craig currently labors on an epic-length adaptation of
Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung, to be published by Dark Horse beginning in 1999.

Dave Dorman’s striking photorealist paintings have graced countless comics,

DAVE DORMAN

posters, trading cards, and books, including his stunning illustrations for the
Aliens: Tribes novel, for which Dave received an Eisner Award in 1993. But Dave
is perhaps best-known for his sensational covers for the Dark Horse Star Wars
family of titles, including Dark Empire, Dark Empire II, Tales of the Jedi, Crimson
Empire, and the illustrated novel, Dark Forces: Jedi Knight. Look for Dave’s work
in Crimson Empire II and in Star Wars: The Art of Dave Dorman, which collects
Dave’s Star Wars material for comics, books, prints, and other products. Dave
was recently voted Best Star Wars Artist in the Topps’ Official Best of Star Wars.
G A L L E RY

featuring the original

comic-book series

cover paintings by

DAVE DORMAN
G A L L E RY
G A L L E RY
G A L L E RY
G A L L E RY
G A L L E RY
 STAR WARS GRAPHIC NOVEL TIMELINE (in years)

Old Republic Era

Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi—5,000–3,986 BSW4 25,000 – 1000 years before
Star Wars: A New Hope
Knights of the Old Republic—3,964–3,963 BSW4
The Old Republic—3653, 3678 BSW4
Knight Errant—1,032 BSW4
Jedi vs. Sith—1,000 BSW4
Omnibus: Rise of the Sith—33 BSW4 Rise of the Empire Era
1000 – 0 years before
Episode I: The Phantom Menace—32 BSW4 Star Wars: A New Hope
Omnibus: Emissaries and Assassins—32 BSW4
Omnibus: Quinlan Vos—Jedi in Darkness—31–30 BSW4
Omnibus: Menace Revealed—31–22 BSW4
Honor and Duty—22 BSW4
Blood Ties—22 BSW4 Rebellion Era
0 – 5 years after
Episode II: Attack of the Clones—22 BSW4
Star Wars: A New Hope
Clone Wars—22–19 BSW4
Clone Wars Adventures—22–19 BSW4
General Grievous—22–19 BSW4
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith—19 BSW4
Dark Times—19 BSW4
New Republic Era
Omnibus: Droids—5.5 BSW4 5 – 25 years after
Star Wars: A New Hope
Omnibus: Boba Fett—3 BSW4–10 ASW4
Omnibus: At War with the Empire—1 BSW4
Episode IV: A New Hope—SW4
Classic Star Wars—0–3 ASW4
Omnibus: A Long Time Ago . . . —0–4 ASW4
Empire—0 ASW4 New Jedi Order Era
25+ years after
Omnibus: The Other Sons of Tatooine—0 ASW4 Star Wars: A New Hope
Omnibus: Early Victories—0–3 ASW4
Jabba the Hutt: The Art of the Deal—1 ASW4
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back—3 ASW4
Omnibus: Shadows of the Empire—3.5–4.5 ASW4
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi—4 ASW4
Legacy Era
Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron—4–5 ASW4 130+ years after
Heir to the Empire—9 ASW4 Star Wars: A New Hope

Dark Force Rising—9 ASW4

The Last Command—9 ASW4
Dark Empire—10 ASW4
Crimson Empire—11 ASW4
Vector
Jedi Academy: Leviathan—12 ASW4 Crosses four eras in the timeline

Union—19 ASW4
Volume 1 contains:
Chewbacca—25 ASW4 Knights of the Old Republic Volume 5
Dark Times Volume 3
Invasion—25 ASW4
Volume 2 contains:
Legacy—130–137 ASW4 Rebellion Volume 4
Legacy Volume 6

BSW4 = before Episode IV: A New Hope. ASW4 = after Episode IV: A New Hope.
 IN ALL THE EMPIRE, there are no more fearsome warriors than
the Emperor’s Imperial Guard, and none is more loyal than Kir Kanos. But
when Carnor Jax—the most formidable of this elite brotherhood—betrays
the Emperor and orders the murder of the Guard, Kir must escape to carry
out his duty to avenge his master. Devoted to the last, Kir must nonetheless
ally himself with Rebel forces to help him attain his retribution in the face
of the Empire’s full might brought down to destroy him. For Kir Kanos, the
last loyal Imperial Guard and the final threat to Jax’s rise to power, there
are no alternatives —
LOYALTY NEVER DIES.

GRAPHIC NOVEL/SCIENCE FICTION