Star Wars: Crimson Empire

Star Wars: Crimson Empire #1

by Mike Richardson, Randy Stradley, Paul Gulacy (Illustrator)

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.

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Fiction, Fantasy

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1998

About the author

Mike Richardson is an American publisher, writer, and Emmy-winning producer. In 1986, he founded Dark Horse Comics, an award-winning international publishing house located in Milwaukie, Oregon. Richardson is also the founder and President of the Things From Another World retail chain and president of Dark Horse Entertainment, which has developed and produced numerous projects for film and television based on Dark Horse properties or licensed properties.
In addition, he has written numerous graphic novels and comics series, including The Secret, Living with the Dead, and Cut as well as co-authoring two non-fiction books: Comics Between the Panels and Blast Off!.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clint Eastwood, is it you?



Dark Horse's Empire's End was a messy trainwreck of a comic book, but this sequel of it is unexpectly one of best Extended Universe tales ever, with a great cast of characters and giving their moment of glory to Palpatine's Royal Guards, who had something like 5 minutes of screen time in The Return of the Jedi.



Storyline totally nailed the Star Wars franchise's essence with a badass antihero main character, the evil villain and the relationship between them, one obsessed with duty and the other one with lust for power.
Vader and Wedge's cameos were great ones too, and Gulacy/Craig Russell are just an artists dream team for me.



Far better than expected.

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Star Wars comics. Set after the death of Palpatine, the Imperial remnants are under the control of Carnor Jax, a former Imperial Guardsman. This story tells us about the recruitment and training process behind the Empire's red-robed elite.

Out of this brutal training, two future guardsmen will make themselves known-Karnor Jax and Kir Kanos. The story goes through the events right after Palpatine's death, seen through the eyes of the Imperial Guard. Once Jax takes power, Kanos seeks to avenge himself on what he sees as traitors. Temporarily fighting beside the Rebel Alliance, he conducts a campaign to bring Jax and his cadre to justice.

Great story, really good art (the cover art is gorgeous), and a great look at the story behind Palpatine's elite guard. While they are neither to the level of a Jedi nor a Sith, these force-sensitive warriors were among the finest warriors in the Galaxy and this comic truly drives that point home. A must read for anyone who likes the Empire and wishes to know more about the Imperial Guard and their training.

[Maria Dimitrova · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been meaning t read this for years but somehow always skipped it in favour of some other Star Wars related stuff. I finally found time for it and I loved the story. It's good to have an Imperial as a protagonist and one of the mysterious Royal Guard - even better. The art is a bit strange but it's expected from such an old comic book though I like it better than that of Dark Empire. I know they had different artists but they were from the same time period and are similar to an extend.

WARRNING: UNTAGGED SPOILERS

The story follows Kir Kanos - a Imperial Royal Guard on a mission to avenge the death of Palpatine No, not the one depicted in Return of the Jedi, the one from Empire's End. Palpatine cheated death a few times with his clones and essence transfer ;) Apparently a fellow Guard - Jax - had helped with the Emperor's demise and now is the somewhat leader of the Imperial Council. So as a loyal Guardsmen our hero (I'm not sure that's the right label but whatever) is determined to hunt him down. Of course the usurper is also trying to finish off Kanos and he has the entire (diminished) might of the Empire at his beck and call. Because of the fact that Kanos is a hunted man and he sucks at subtlety (what better way to attract the wrong attention than to sweep the floor with a few officers and stormtroopers) our protagonist ends up mixed with the local Rebels. When their base is discovered and attacked he helps them and creates the wrong impression that he's redeemable in the eyes of the base commander. After the battle's end Kanos leaves and the Rebels try to relocate. Of course things don't go as planned and the secondary base is also discovered and attacked. Here comes a little cameo from one of my favourite non-Force-users from the old Legends - Wedge Antilles commanding not other that the Super Star Destroyer Lusankya. By that time Kanos is long gone but the local Rebel commander (I don't remember her name, sorry!) decides to help him face off with Jax. That ends badly for one of our rebel friends when Kanos kills him and the rebel commander swears she'll finish Kanos for it. While I feel bad for the Rebels, Kanos did warned them that they are not allies and that in the end of the day they're still enemies. Not everyone is redeemable and honestly they shouldn't be. However I have to admit that I admire Kanos dedication to duty. You could say he's doing it for revenge but something tells me that's not the case here. But we'll have to see. Onto the next part.

[ariane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gah, I love this book! It has all of my guilty pleasures: the underdog hero is a bad guy who is really a good guy; there is a tough chick who kicks many asses and takes a variety of names; big-effing spaceships; cameos from the franchise heroes (Wedge!); star-crossed lovers...well not yet, but its clear where this is going and I love it. Carnor Jax is a great old-fashioned villain, killing his boss and buddies and trying to rule the universe. I wish he had more a presence in the (old) EU. The interior art is a bit too quirky for my tastes in Star Wars comics but that doesn't mean there aren't some sweet panels, such as when Kir Kanos takes off his mask to taunt Jax. Great storytelling, though. This is pure space opera, depths be damned, just like the original movies. Crimson Empire would make a fun animated mini-series! I hope the second volume is as mindlessly entertaining as this one. Three cheers for giving me what I don't need, but exactly what I want!

[Michael O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel covers a part of the Star Wars universe that the movies barely touch on --- Emperor Palpatine's Imperial Guard. Rigorously trained under brutal conditions, they are fanatically loyal to the Emperor --- the best of the best, a match even for a skilled Jedi knight. This novel covers former Imperial Guard Kir Kanos' quest to avenge the betrayal of his Emperor at the hands of a fellow Guard and usurper. The plot, storyline, and illustrations are well done and engaging --- climaxing in the final battle between Kano and his adversary in a personal combat like the one between Obi Won Kenobi and Darth Vadar on Mostafar. All in all, an enjoyable ride throughout!

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and wonderfully drawn comic! If only the female lead had been more modestly dressed...

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept, but I had expectations going into the book that were not reached. Crimson Empire is the Star Wars Legends story of the two last guards of Emperor Palpatine, each with different goals. Some artwork is good, especially the action scenes, but the artstyle could be a little distracting at times. The book has a heavy Dollars Trilogy feel to it, with a wandering protagonist who comes into trouble with his past. I would've liked if this story went on a lot longer, perhaps if it was a novel instead of a graphic novel. I found the characters enjoyable however.

I had hoped that Carnor Jax would've been alive for much longer, seeing that his presence as an attempted sith lord and his sith powers make for great potential, but otherwise he was rather one-note.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Emperor is dead, and one of the last members of his Crimson Guard, is a fugitive from the new government and determined to seek revenge on a group that were conspiring against the empire.

Amazing how they could take those guys in the red helmets that got five minutes of screen time during the movies and turn them into interesting characters and set up this entertaining bit of sci-fi adventure meets revenge flick.

A pleasant surprise from the usually uneven world of Star Wars comics.

[EmBe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Handlung des Comics setzt nach dem Ende des Imperators Palpatine ein. Er wird bekanntlich nach der Schlacht von Endor von Dart Vader getötet. Die Vollvisier-Helme und lange Mäntel in Rot tragenden imperialen Gardisten haben eher eine dekorative, denn eine aktive Rolle in der ursprünglichen Trilogie. In dem Comic nun nehmen zwei ehemalige Gardisten als Antagonisten eine zentrale Rolle ein. Der eine Carnor Jax, schwingt sich zum neuen Herrscher auf, nachdem eine Verschwörung die Klone des Imperators tötet und die Garde vernichtet, bis Kir Kanos. Der hat dem Imperator Treue bis zum Tod geschworen und will den Verrat der Verschwörer sühnen, weshalb er gejagt wird. Er kommt auf dem Planeten Phaeda an, und nach einem Kampf mit Offizieren des neuen Herrschers verhelfen ihm die Rebellen auf diesem Planeten zu einem Unterschlupf. Sie handeln nach der Devise, die Feinde meines Feindes sind unsere Freunde. Der örtliche Kommandant wird durch Verrat vom Stützpunkt der Rebellen und will zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen, die Rebellen vernichten und auch den gesuchten töten. Der neue Herrscher, er zeigt immer wieder Eigenschaften eines Sith, erfährt davon und steuert diesen Planeten auch an, um sich persönlich seines Feindes anzunehmen. Doch das finale Duell findet auf statt, dem Wüstenplaneten Yinchorr, auf dem beide einst zusammen ausgebildet wurden.
Ein recht spannendes Garn, das auch die Geschichte für einen abendfüllenden Spielfilm hat. Es gibt Wendungen und Einblicke in die Herrschaft des Imperiums und die Zeit danach. Frauen und nichtmenschliche Bewohner der Galaxis sind Einzelerscheinungen. Die einzige weibliche Figur ist Mirith Sinn die Kommandantin der "Streitkräfte der Neuen Republik" Was Nichtmenschliche Intelligenzen betriftt, liegt der Comic sogar hinter den Standards der klassischen Trilogie zurück. Außer Sish Sadeet, dem echsenhaften Adjudanten und Sidekick der Kommandantin, spielen sie praktisch keine Rolle. Die zeichnerische Umsetzung hat ein gewisses handwerkliches Niveau, mehr aber auch nicht. Die Sache mit den Klonen des Imperators ist die einzige Freiheit, die sich der Autor nimmt, sie ist auch der Aufhänger für die Story, denn sonst müsste sich der ehemalige Gardist ja eigentlich gegen die Rebellen kämpfen.
Interessanterweise haben die Imperialen Gardisten in "Die letzten Jedi" eine aktivere Rolle, Rey kämpft gegen sie im Audienzsaal von Imperator Snoke. Und auch die Idee von der "Reproduktion" des Imperators scheint in "Der Aufstieg Skywalkers" wieder aufgegriffen worden zu sein. Die Story um die ehemaligen Gardisten hat den Vorteil, dass sie eben ein Nebenschauplatz ist, der die große Handlung der Filme nicht "stört". Deswegen bekam der Comic, der 2000 usprünglich im Dino Verlag erschien, 2017 eine Neuauflage bei Pannini. Und wurde so gewissermaßen Teil nach der Übernahme von Lucas Inc. durch Disney des neuen Kanons.
Die Geschichte geht noch weiter, aber den zweiten Band kenne ich nicht. Wenn ich den günstig bekomme, würde ich ihn natürlich lesen. Der erste gelangte auch nur als aussortiertes Bibliotheksexemplar in meine Hände. Beim Binden dieses Bibliotheksexemplars ist ein Fehler unterlaufen. Die unnummerierten Seiten wurden falsch gebunden. Das habe ich beim Lesen gemerkt, und musste die Seiten neu anordnen. Ich wollte dieses Exemplar wegen "kreativer Pläne" eh auseinandernehmen. Hinten im Exemplar befindet sich ein Postit mit dem Vermerk "Seiten fehlen", aber da hat die Bibliotheksangestellte den ganzen Comic wie ich nicht gelesen.

[Callum Shephard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone loves a good villain. While a protagonist can be great, and a hero can be fantastic, he or she rarely stands out unless they're pitted against a truly outstanding opposite number. You can likely think of a good thousand or so examples for this, but the big one people often come back to is Batman, thanks to his highly recognizable rogue's gallery. Yet, as great as they are, writing a story about a villain taking a leading role can be almost impossible at times. It's remarkably easy to push to far and turn someone off from watching a morally bankrupt maniac slaughtering innocents wholesale, or to overcompensate for their failings and accidentally turning the out-and-out monster into an anti-hero. Few indeed manage to strike the right balance, but Crimson Empire is one such story. In fact, it manages to beat the odds in more ways than you might expect.

The tale here follows one of the Emperor's Royal Guard, Kir Kanos, as he follow's his dead master's will. Hunting down those who assisted Luke Skywalker in killing his master, he has turned against the very Empire Palpatine forged, seeking to execute the usurpers who now lead it. Yet, as New Republic forces wage a guerrilla war on one of the Empire's outermost worlds, Kanos finds himself dragged into the conflict and questioning every side involved.

The Good

Perhaps the most laudable thing to cite about Crimson Empire is how it epitomizes the best of the Expanded Universe's qualities. This was a comic which took a few background figures - characters with no lines, perhaps two minutes of screen-time at the most, and not even a close-up - and fully fleshed them out. Throughout the story you see the rise and fall of this elite group, how they were formed, trained and dedicated themselves to Palpatine, and just what they were capable of. The story even drops a few interesting points without spelling its ideas out to the reader, like how their training mimics certain Sith and Jedi traits, and even leaves a few visual implications hanging for readers (and later authors) to follow up on. This is a story first and foremost, but the creators were always looking for fun ways to build upon what the films established.

In addition to this, the comic also quickly dispels that old myth that the EU required you to follow everything to understand it. Through an opening crawl style exposition dump, a villainous speech, and a few badass scenes by Kanos himself it quickly outlines all that has happened since Return of the Jedi. A New Republic has been formed, Palpatine was cloned and tried to revive the Empire but was slain in the attempt, and a ruling council is trying to reunite the fractured remnants of his domain. This makes the intro fairly exposition heavy, but it quickly breezes through the information while sticking to the satisfying details, and even throwing in new information for veteran readers, like how Palpatine's clones were actually sabotaged by someone within the Royal Guard.

Through this quite direct format, the story establishes exactly when and where it is, what the stakes are, who the chief players are and allows it to move on ahead. While this might sound crude at first glance, if anything it's a more pragmatic approach to the tale. Something which eschews the more common decompressed storytelling in favour of leaving space for bigger battles and character moments. Plus, when it does need to flesh out or develop an idea, Crimson Empire often delves into past moments of Kanos' life to better solidify his personality. This, combined with the fact he is effectively the tale's narrator, helps to give him far more depth than you might think at first glance, and makes him more engaging than the typical avenging villain.

Kanos is cold, professionally distant and blunt, but also honourable, respectful (in his own way) and doggedly loyal to his convictions. Closer in many respects to Talos Valcoran than the typical Star Wars villain like Malak, Asajj Ventress or Bossk, you can tell that he's a brutal killer and loyal to the near-definition of evil in that setting, but it keeps giving just enough good qualities to keep you engaged. Even when he ends up performing stunts you know are out-and-out villainous, they're usually directed against the Empire itself, at least until the very end. The comic goes to great lengths to show you how he viewed Palpatine, and even doubles down on it with some additional tragedy. You see, Kanos isn't simply a Royal Guard, he's one of the last two left in existence after they were betrayed and butchered. Where is the other one? He, Carnor Jax, is sitting at the head of the new Empire, having slaughtered his way to the top, even through his comrades in arms.

Jax himself is a much more traditional villain than compared with Kanos, but wonderfully so. The story frequently embraces many of the common evil overlord tropes but without unleashing the ham in his scenes or reducing itself to many common cliches. Better yet, while he treats his underlings as fodder and willingly sticks to the kind of treachery the Sith are best known for, he often avoids the stupidity typical of his kind. He never underestimates Kanos, and the few times the Guardsman gets the better of him is thanks to his underlings failing to comprehend just who they are facing.

The rest of the supporting cast play about with a few of the expected tropes, with Commander Mirith Sinn providing the role of a hard nosed Republic officer without diving head-on into Thunderbolt Ross territory. While few are offered any great insight, there's usually enough there to keep things interesting, suggesting greater depth rather than truly showing it. It really sticks to what helped Star Wars stand out in the first place, as by all rights it really is traditionalist space opera to a fault, but there's always enough of an edge or greater thought behind things to give it some surprising substance.


The comic keeps up a brisk pace from start to finish, but the highlights come from the constant action. This isn't relentless fighting, as there are breaks in between battles and moments for character development, but it's clear someone in the writing room was having a lot of fun thinking up these fights. From the opening bar room battle to the the showdown on the ruined Royal Guard training grounds, the tale here is spectacular in how it handles each fight. Every few pages you're offered something striking, some memorable scene to help highlight the battles, from Kanos managing to take out a TIE Interceptor on-foot to the surprising new arrival which forces a Star Destroyer to surrender. There's enough of these moments to always make you feel satisfied, and to think back to each fight one after the next. Plus, it helps that the final two major engagements are pure visual poetry. I will not show the fight in full, but here's how it starts:






While it might not be the personal gold standard for how to handle comicbook fights, the finale is always the one I have personally argued should be taught in classes. The one which highlights how best to present a duel between two old enemies, and to show how an elite squad can be overcome by a legend without making an open mockery of their skills. Frame by frame, how they are structured, paced and the fight escalates really is a joy to behold, and it even manages to overshadow the vastly bigger battles of the second act.

Still, this is far from a perfect comic and there are a few definite issues which arose while reading it. Which is something we'll get into next.

The Bad

The artwork here is oddly very mixed in places which can give the sense that the story is uneven. Certain expressions and details seem strangely off at times, and while artists Paul Gulacy and Craig Russell are talented individuals, it's clear that certain panels were hard for them to pull off. The big epic moments, the ones which will stay in your mind, work well and many of the shock moments are extremely well detailed. At the same time though, background figures, features and even textures can seem sparsely detailed, as if they were skimmed over in order to get to the meat of things. It also doesn't help that there's some painfully obvious late '90s CGI at work in certain panels, specifically in the space scenes. Each sticks out like a sore thumb, and the the volume even has the misfortune to end on one such shot, which is disappointing to be sure.



Another definite problem which hinders the tale is how it sometimes requires you to accept stupidity to work. The core characters themselves are certainly fine, and many of these flaws are well hidden enough at first glance to help you overlook them, but it doesn't take much to pick out on certain ones. For example, the major battle of Crimson Empire comes about because the Imperial Commander of the planet launches an attack on the New Republic base. This was against Jax's explicit orders, and even with some additional incentive, he's still disobeying the commands of a man who will kill him for it, no matter what. This isn't hard to realise, and the story still tries to treat his execution as a somewhat shocking moment. In addition to this, the very existence of Jax himself requires something of a logical blind-spot to even be possible. He is revealed early on to be a powerful Force user, yet the reader is supposed to apparently believe that Palpatine never picked up on this at any point.

Matters are hindered further when you stop to realise that - while it's well handled for what it is - the establishing speech is an "As you know" conversation. The type where two characters are reiterating information they both know, purely for the audience's sake. It's almost forgivable thanks to why it's set up, but not quite, and it means that it's easy to be put off of the story early on if you pick up on this failing. A few other moments also seem to veer more towards narrative continence or simply sticking to what people know over anything new, especially when it comes to the New Republic. The whole dynamic of the war as it is presented in the system seems to regulate it back to the Rebels vs Empire style of combat, over the better armed New Republic vs Empire dynamic which should exist now.

Finally, and most pressingly, there's a very obvious sequel bait in the conclusion here. It's painfully visible that Richardson and Stradley were aiming for this to be a trilogy and, while the core story is excellently well resolved, it's hard not to sigh in disappointment to see something more satisfying being given up for this.

The Verdict

Really, despite its flaws, Crimson Empire remains a very solid story and a personal favourite from Dark Horse Comics. You have action, drama, a great deal of lore, and it even manages to sidestep the cliches you might expect it to embrace wholeheartedly. Kanos remains a villain right up to the final page - Just as devotedly loyal to Palpatine's memory as when he started, and he certainly doesn't get the girl in the end. In fact, the few cliches it does truly devote itself to are often presented so well, and executed so effectively, that it helps to remind you of just why they became overused in the first place. If you're a Star Wars fan after something in the bigger universe, or even just an exciting example of what the franchise can pull off with the right creators, definitely give this one a look.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty sure Kir Kanos is just Clint Eastwood except instead of a gun hes got a VibroBlade and Heavy Blaster and used to serve the evilest man in the universe.

Most revenge stories center on whether the main character can let go or be consumed, often framing revenge as hollow or self-destructive. At the same time, they usually dress it up as “justice.” Even when it’s selfish at its core, there’s almost always some level of justification that makes it feel believable.

The vengeance itself is less compelling than the object of it. Kanos’s cause is blatantly immoral to any reader. It’s an anti-hero’s path dressed in the trappings of a hero’s retribution, but without a trace of moral justification. That doesn’t seem to matter to him. Kanos isn’t self-driven so much as he is like an abandoned dog—acting on instinct rather than conscience, as though any sense of morality has long since been bled out of him.

As far as EU stories go, this one’s kind of my gold standard. It doesn’t mess with established lore in any obvious way it’s just an ancillary tale that slots smoothly into the larger arc of the original trilogy and its aftermath. It takes a small detail the Imperial Royal Guards and explores it in a way that wouldn’t have worked on screen but fits perfectly in comic form.

Normally the Royal Guards are background characters, but here they’re made to feel truly formidable serious threats to anyone who isn’t a Jedi. It gives more weight to Palpatine having them at his side in the films. And honestly, they just look rad: crimson armor, black under-suiting, and a double-bladed vibroblade.

[Matthew Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Crimson Empire" looks at an elite group that didn’t get a lot of development in the films – the Emperor’s elite Royal Guard.

Written by Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley (Aliens vs. Predator), with artwork by Paul Gulacy (Master of Kung-Fu) and P. Craig Russell (Elric: Stormbringer), “Crimson Empire” has a creative team that is very lauded in the comics industry.

Kir Kanos, one of the last two surviving members of Emperor Palpatine’s Royal Guard, is on the run. After the emperor’s death, Kanos is thought too dangerous to live. As a fugitive, he’s seeking revenge on those who betrayed the emperor. But being opposed to the new Empire regime draws him in with some members of the Rebel Alliance, who believe Kanos’ training could be of help to them.

Flashbacks include showing how the Royal Guard were chosen and trained; this is a harsh world that shows the tyranny of the Empire.

With plenty of action, twists and surprising developments throughout, “Crimson Empire” is recommended.

[Ant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an Expanded Universe comic. Ever wondered about those characters and places and events mentioned but hardly explained in the movies? That's just part of what the Expanded Universe does. Crimson Empire I, does well in giving some background on the Imperial Royal Guard. The men in red robes and helmets seen in Return of the Jedi, the Emperor's guards, these are the Imperial Royal Guard. This particular story addresses the question of what happens to the Emperor's loyal guardsmen once the Emperor is no more. Crimson Empire also shows a part of what happened to the Empire or its remnants, after the destruction of the second Death Star.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked learning about the Imperial Royal Guard and the fight scene at the end was pretty cool.

[Holt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another audiobook for my 3 year old and me to listen to. Interesting plot and more fun than the Dark Empire 2 and 3 books.

[Lionel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Red Guard is one the most intriguing feature in the movies, to me at least. Nice to see some of them in action for once

[Tibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth comic series on my read-through of every Star Wars Legends book/comic.

The art is terrible. The plot is paper-thin and hyper-edgy. The characters are walking 90s cliches. But damn, I had a lot of fun with this.

Look, sometimes you just want to read a story about a tough dude trying to kill another tough dude that betrayed him. The fight scenes are friggin' sick. The story is straight-forward, but in a good way. Every piece of dialogue feels like it should be spoken in a gravelly baritone while chomping a cigar.

That said, I genuinely don't know what was going on with the art here. I'm assuming this comic was a victim of the growing pains as the industry switched from physical to digital. But damn, going from Dark Empire's jaw-dropping art to...this in only a few years is jarring. I could excuse the art if it were only the colors and shading that looked bad, but the penciler seemed to lack basic competency in perspective and draftsmanship. That said, I loved the fact that the female main character's face radically changed its shape every panel, but her body was drawn with extreme attention to detail (and with special attention paid to her butt). Very entertaining. This man knows his audience.

It's hard to be mad at something that knows exactly what it is and executes on it perfectly. The fact that the art looks like it was made by a 14-year-old boy honestly fits with the rest of the comic which feels like it was written both by and for 14-year-old boys. And the 14-year-old boy inside of me thinks this comic is awesome. Unfortunately, the current-age version of me cannot, in good conscience, rate this higher than a 6.5/10.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was surely one of the Star Wars stories I've enjoyed the most since the original trilogy. The narrative was great, the art was awesome, it worked by itself (with only a bit of background knowledge needed, that for the most part all fans already hace), and the characters and plot were mostly engaging and well delivered.

But more important than that: it was original. Not only in the premise, as it's not that commonplace in the Star Wars universe to find something that lies out of two categories (the Skywalker saga, and the Jedi/Light - Sith/Dark Side conflict), something that this book achieves, but also in the way it deals with its characters and plot twists, avoiding topical "bad guy redeems itself" or "everything ends up great" situations. Cameos of characters such as Vader or the Emperor are well delivered, and overall I only had a bit of a problem with the ending (SPOILER although I like it, i found hard to believe that a character with superior combat skills, Force habilities [that never get much of an explanation, by the way] and a desire to kill, is defeated the way his opponents end him SPOILER ENDS).

Aside from that, really entertaining and satisfying reading. A must for any Star Wars fan.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this back when it first came out, in the late 90s, so this is a reread. This was included in the Star Wars Humble Bundle from 2014, so that's how it got back into my "to be read" pile.

This is a reasonably good story, with great art by Paul Gulacy and P. Craig Russell. Gulacy and Russell are two of my very favorite comic book artists, so it's great to see them working together on a Star Wars comic. Russell is a good inker for Gulacy, but I would say that very little of his own style comes through here. He's not asserting his own style over Gulacy's at all. He's just helping Gulacy's art look great.

The story itself is fun, but as with a lot of Star Wars comics, there's not much to it. And if you're looking for familiar characters from the movies, none of them are major characters here. But if you're just looking for a fun diversion with great art, this is a good choice.

[Ian Cleary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crimson Empire has the benefit of being made after a wealth of new republic era content had already come out so it is highly referential of Dark Empire, especially Empire's End, and it is chock full of EU ship designs like Scimitars, tie crawlers, z-95s, E-wings, Skiprays etc. It also has one of the best Imperial characters in all of old canon in Kir Kanos and a fun, classic villain in Carnor Jax. However, Mirith Sinn is one of the dumbest star wars characters in history, not to mention she looks way too much like Mara Jade. Also, Gulacy's art can be really shitty. He can imbue his star wars with a fun zeerustiness but mostly he just draws weird faces and off-model ships, weapons and armor. Owning a copy of Crimson Empire 3, I know his sloppiness only gets worse.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the concept and character of Kir Kanos. This gave some depth to the very one-dimensional Imperial Guards who mostly just stand around like furniture in the movies.

The rebel group is more like a bunch of stereotypes, but it seems to hang together okay. The leader, Mirith, somehow felt like a rehash. Star Wars is obsessed with redheads in skimpy piratey outfits. Action-wise, she was interesting enough so I just got over it.

It seemed like they were trying to retcon the Dark Empire Trilogy plotline a bit, giving the Emperor's clones greater reason for being lame. But they did it well, and I'm good with it.

[Micah Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this series as a kid when it was coming out and wanted to revisit (and finish) it as an adult now that the whole series is available in the Star Wars Legacy collection. The first volume holds up. The art is a bit inconsistent, but for the most part it is a great story that creates a pretty brilliant narrative out of the formerly small and mysterious characters in Star Wars: the Imperial Guards.

I have a whole lot of nostalgia reading this and it makes me sad that Disney used little to no elements of what was written as source material for the newer films. But I digress, if you’re a Star Wars fan, I highly suggest this book.

[Alexander Röck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another masterpiece from dark horse comics

This book takes background Characters like the royal guards, that are laughing stock in the movies, and turns them into the most badass warriors this universe has ever seen. Kir kanos is a fantastic protagonist, and Carnor Jax shines as the villain. You really feel their personal feud with each other, and the story is incredibly grounded. The new republik Characters are a great addition and make for a diverse cast of characters. The artwork is phenomenal and the action sequences are done beautifully. A definite recommend!

[Lewis Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly serviceable bit of edgy 90s Star Wars that takes itself extremely seriously, and there lies the problem - there’s no brevity. Star Wars is much more than just kick ass battles, and this doesn’t offer much outside of that. The art is fine, but the faces definitely enter the uncanny valley a little too frequently, and the dodgy photoshop planets don’t help the overall presentation either.

[Steven Calandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The drama revolving around Kir Kanos and Carnor Jax is quite compelling! I greatly enjoyed the moment when Darth Vader suddenly appeared in a flashback, testing the Red Guards in training. The artwork is wonderful, the best since Tales of the Jedi! I liked the brief mention of Echani martial instruction, a connection to the Knights of the Old Republic era.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still so silly that Disney ignores the wealth of great Star Wars stories to create the subpar sequel trilogy. That being said, Crimson Empire is an engaging story, introducing complex new characters, without having to rely on any Skywalkers or other major characters to expand on the mythos. Great artwork too, makes this a must read for Star Wars fans!

[CloneTrooperFanbot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. Seeing more Royal Guards and their training is very cool. As is Carnor Jax and Kir Kanos. Carnor is a cool villain who basically killed the Emperor for his own greed, and he has a very commanding presence. Having the protagonist be a Palpatine loyalist is bold and I am excited to see more Kir Kanos adventures

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick impressions: A fairly light read with a good but not too substantive story. Best part is that it dives a bit into the lore and training of the Imperial Guards. Otherwise, this is a revenge tale leading to that final confrontation. Still, I did like this one.

(Full review in blog later)

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was real good had good art and not cluttered dialogue simple but lit story shrek the third memez

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good change and a different point of view. I liked it. a good read.