Customer Reviews

Star Wars: Crimson Empire, Volume 1

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Years before Star Wars: Empire, Dark Horse gave us Crimson Empire- a dark story about the elite Imperial guard. Carnor Jax and and Kir Kanos are former members of Palpaltine's Eltite Guard, feared and respected throughout the galaxy. Now, two years after their master's death, they find themselves in very different circumstances. One, Jax, is poised to take over his master's throne, and the other, Kanos is a hunted, hungry fugitive that has sworn revenge on all those who betrayed his beloved emperor.

Flashing between now and the past, this book shows us slices of the past, including how the Imperial Guards were trained. Wow! That's all I can say without offering too many spoilers. :> And this book has more twists and turns in this plot than a Kessel Run.

Though it's a few years old now, this remains one of the best Star Wars stories of all time, and represents Dark Horse Star Wars at it's best. If what you love about the Star Wars Universe is the characterization then stop reading this review and buy yourself this. You won't be disappointed.

This can be enjoyed by newcomers and long term fans as it a clearly defined story not relying heavily on intricate continuity.

Highly recommended.

Having read a lot of Star Wars Graphic Novels, I can safely say this is one of the best if not the best. Crimson Empire delivers the goods. Period. There's a reason almost all the reviews here are 5 stars: this story is unique, captures the essence of SW and takes you on a ride that is as enjoyable as the original films. BOLD. NEW. EXCITING. Read Crimson Empire.

I've long considered Dark Horse to be the smartest and most resourceful comic book publisher. When they started out over twenty years ago, they made the conscious decision to not try to take on Marvel and DC at their own game. Instead, they published truly unique titles such as Concrete and Hellboy and were aggressive in obtaining the licenses to popular movie franchise like Aliens, Predator, and, their biggest coup, Star Wars. Let's not forget that Marvel had the Star Wars license in the 1970's and while they concentrated on the central characters from the first trilogy, Dark Horse has delved into the expanded universe, telling stories that were set thousands of years before the events in the first Star Wars film, as well as tales set well after Return of the Jedi, not to mention filling in gaps between the films.

This tale takes place about ten years after the destruction of the first Death Star and after Luke Skywalker has defeated the last of the Emperor's clones. The empire is fractured and looking for new leadership, and still looking to crush the rebellion. Stepping forward, and nominating himself as the new ruler is Carnor Jax, a member of the Emperor's Royal Guard.

The book sheds some deserving light on the members of the Royal Guard. These Crimson cloaked warriors were always shrouded in secrecy. A back story takes readers to the distant planet of Yinchorr, a desolate planet with no strategic value. It was here were potential Royal Guardsman received their harsh training. Often having to fight to the death to prove themselves worthy to the Emperor as well as Darth Vader. The Guardsman's training was perhaps even more strenuous than that of the Jedi.

On the planet of Phaeda, a mysterious man has just entered a local watering hole and is confronted by several soldiers and Stormtroopers, killing all of them single-handedly. This man turns out to be Kir Kanos, a former Royal Guardsman marked for death by Carnor Jax. Kanos uncovered a plot by Jax to have inferior clones of the Emperor, thereby sealing his fate. Still loyal to the Emperor, Kanos and other loyal Guardsmen battled Jax's forces but were overwhelmed by superior numbers until only Jax remained. Now, on this insignificant planet, Kanos finds himself in a strange alliance with local Rebel forces when Jax tracks him down and is willing to destroy the entire city to kill his enemy.

Here is a great example of an outstanding Star Wars story with little reliance on the core characters. Luke Skywalker and Vader make brief cameos in flashback sequences only. The book holds it own on the strong plot and the powerful enmity between Carnor Jax and Kir Kanos, two mortal enemies. You just know that one of them is not going to survive; it can be no other way. The art is by two veteran artists, and two of my favorites: penciller Paul Gulacy and inker P. Craig Russell. I've been a huge Gulacy fan ever since he worked on The Master of Kung-Fu in the 70's and his pencils are perfectly rendered by the poetic inks of Russell.

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

...I'm glad someone decided to give these Royal Guardsman their fame by publishing this comic series. The drwings are great. And tt gives you in depth perspective on how these guardsman train and use their force pikes. And how they train and are also force users.
It shows how these guardsman (former elite storm troopers) show up to the training facilities, and their strive to become the beat guardsman. And the cost of that is having to ultimately killing another top contender which was one of your own fellow trainees you trained with.
That's totally compelling.

I heard the audio cassete version of this story by checking it out of the library. My mom, not even really a great fan of Star Wars, listened to it with me and we finished it the same day. I am now listening to it again. The actors do a wonderful job and as always the music and soiund effects make it sound like the battle is in your own room. This is the best! Great to see Wedge Antilles at the end. Mirith Sinn is the most idiotic character I have ever seen. How many times did Ki Kanos warn her that they were not allies? Not enough I guess. Still one of the best.

This graphic novel is superb. The art is incredible, the story amazing, and the sheer fact that it engrosses you is wonderful. Once i started reading i couldn't put it down. It reveals many empty voids left after the emperors death at the hands of vader, as well as give a story to the uber awesome red cloaked guards aka the royal guard. If you have never read a graphic novel this is is probably one of the best to start with.

I'm a hardcore Star Wars fan. I admit it. So, it's rare to find any Star Wars media that I don't like. And, Crimson Empire is no exception.
I like the stories of non-hero Star Wars characters. This deals with Imperial Guard Kir Kanos, and his plot to exact revenge upon Carnor Jax, a traitor to the Imperial Guard. Kanos will no hesitate to kill anyone who stands in his way, and does whatever it is he needs to accomplish his goals.
If you are interested in checking out a new Star Wars plotline, I highly recommend this tale to you. Kir Kanos is an example of a Jedi without the power of the Force.

It is great to see a story focused around the most enigmatic and intriguing characters in the Star Wars saga. Ever since they hit the big screen with their 5 minutes of fame, I have been caught up in thier mystique. The writers did an excellent job as well, thusly deserving a 5 of 5.

My favorite characters are the royal guard so I may be a bit biased :)
Overall I thought it was a decent story, but I think they could have done better. However, the art was truly amazing!! This comic also gives you some information on what happened after Episode VI and was interesting in that aspect as well.

I bought the audio version, which runs about 2 hours, and it was fantastic. Very suspenseful and I recommend it. It was about time we heard more about the Crimson Guard. (WARNING: IF you haven't read the book yet, ignore this part until you have). The problems I see are with the plot and characterizations. First, is the lady commander of the rebel base actually incompetant or were her officers at fault? She orders her blue unit too far advance when her first base is assaulted, for example. Also, the ending doesn't quite make sense--The Lady Commander and her lietentant purposefully don't kill Jax so they can take him alive, but didn't they know that Kanos had sworn again and again to kill Jax? Did they think he was going to stop after all that? Seems foolish. Also, why did her lieutentant charge Kanos AFTER Jax was dead? Obviously, it was too late to do anything about it, since HE WAS ALREADY DEAD! Why would you charge a deadly fighter like Kanos over spilled milk? Doesn't make sense. And when the Lady Commander swears to hunt down kanos because he killed her lieutenant, why would she--or we--think for a moment she could kill, much less even FIND the superior fighter Kanos? It's ridiculous as they potray Kanos as nearly invincible and the Lady as incompetant, but somehow she is going to 'bring him' to justice? Doesn't make sense!