Don’t tell Frank Miller that sequels are madness. He’s liable to scream in your face, “MADNESS?!” before kicking you into a bottomless pit. King Leonidas may be dead, but the tale of Miller’s uniquely semi-divine, super-sized, androgynous Persian god-king Xerxes is not over. Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander will conclude Miller’s fantasy-tinged history of the Persian-Greek conflict, pitting Xerxes against the likewise semi-divine Alexander the Great.
Now, before you point out that Alexander and Xerxes lived about a century apart in reality, remember that Xerxes probably wasn’t over seven feet tall either. Born from the sort of heroic tales told to soldiers of the day, the 300 stories are by nature laden with heightened imagery and poetic license, amounting to the pre-movie-theater equivalent of King Kong versus Godzilla. This morning, we are delighted to reveal the first wraparound cover of this five-issue series, with art by Miller and colors by The Dark Knight III‘s Alex Sinclair.
Per the press release:
“300 was an interlude in the great story of the Persian Wars. The battle of 300 represented one episode in a much greater series of wars,†said Xerxes creator Frank Miller. “This series tells the story of the first great clash of civilizations, the first bloody contest between east and west. The odds vastly favor the Persian forces, but the Greeks have Alexander, the greatest military commander of all time.â€
Granted, the description is ambiguous enough that it might just be the next generation of Xerxes’ forces that meet Alexander, but we’re pulling for Xerxes himself to lead the charge. Either way, Issue #1 (of five) will hit comic shops on April 4, 2018, featuring over 30 pages of story for a retail price of $4.99. Whether or not a movie will follow to make 300 a cinematic trilogy… well, that might just be up to you readers.
Are you ready to dine in hell one more night? Leave us 300 comments (or less, we’re not fussy) and let us talk in the shade.
Images: Warner Bros., Dark Horse Comics
