When Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley set out to chronicle the story of the Emperor's Royal Guard in Star Wars: Crimson Empire, they were simply hoping to expand on the characters and concepts of one of the most intriguing ideas introduced in Return of the Jedi. What happened instead was the seasoned comics duo created what would end up being the best-selling comic of Dark Horse's entire Star Wars line.

In December (only a month after the series debut of Crimson Empire II), Dark Horse revisits the popular Star Wars title and will give fans another chance to get their hands on this exciting series with the release of the Star Wars: Crimson Empire trade paperback.

"The series was a bit of a gamble for us," Mike Hansen, editorial assistant on the project, said, "because it doesn't feature many of the main characters from the Star Wars films. But Richardson and Stradley have put together such a great story that the readers don't mind -- in fact, many are glad that it explores uncharted areas of the Star Wars universe. And Paul Gulacy's art has been incredible. I can't imagine the series without his eye-catching style. We're getting Star Wars fans who don't even buy comic books picking up this series, and that's rare in this industry."

Star Wars: Crimson Empire by Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley, with art by Paul Gulacy and P. Craig Russell, debuts as a full-color, 160-page trade paperback December 2, and will be available at comics shops and retail bookstores everywhere for $17.95.