Star Wars Legends Epic Collection 8 : The Empire

The Empire era concludes - and a New Hope dawns! General Dodonna, one of the Old Republic's most brilliant strategists, must use all his skills to outmaneuver the Imperial fleet - including commanders who were taught his tactics! Can he overcome the challenges surrounding the creation of a rebel base on Yavin IV? Darth Vader is on the hunt for the stolen Death Star plans, but he doesn't expect to cross paths with Princess Leia…or Darth Maul! And Imperial pilot Biggs Darklighter is on the run. Discover how Biggs became one of the Rebellion's greatest X-Wing pilots! Plus: The comics adaptation of A New Hope and more! Collecting STAR WARS: EMPIRE #5-6, #8-13 and #15; STAR WARS: X-WING ROGUE SQUADRON #1/2; STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE SPECIAL EDITION #1-4; STAR WARS: TAG & BINK ARE DEAD #1; and material from STAR WARS TALES #1, #6, #8-10, #12, #14, #16 and #19.

Bruce Jones, a professional writer for more than 30 years, was a founding contributor to the legendary horror magazines Creepy and Eerie. His run on Incredible Hulk shifted the title’s focus from traditional super-heroics to taut psychological thriller, propelling the series to best-selling status.

Ron Marz broke into comics in the early '90s with a lengthy run on Marvel’s Silver Surfer, followed by a stint on DC’s Green Lantern, where he co-created Kyle Rayner. In 2000, Marz joined the creative team at CrossGen, working on Sojourn, Mystic, The Path and Scion, among others. He also had an acclaimed run on Top Cow’s Witchblade which lasted nearly a decade. He has recently returned to Marvel, writing Silver Surfer: Rebirth.

Garth Ennis has been writing comics since 1989. His credits include Preacher, Hitman, The Boys and the war series Battlefields and War Story, as well as successful runs on The Punisher and Fury for Marvel Comics. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Ennis now resides in New York City with his wife, Ruth.

A self-taught comic artist, Doug Wheatley set his sights high as a child with dreams of working on the Star Wars franchise. After breaking into comics in 1994 with Marvel Comics' Midnight Sons and Blade: The Vampire Hunter, he enjoyed work at Dark Horse on high profile adaptations and tie-ins for properties like the video game series Myst, and movie super-series Aliens. He would get his first taste of working on Star Wars comics in 1999, and by 2005 was selected as the artist to illustrate the adaptation of Revenge of the Sith, continuing with a variety of related titles for the next 10 years. Recently, he has penciled and inked for Dark Horse’s King Tiger and the Hellboy 100 Project.

Gary Erskine built an impressive resume during the early ’90s from his native Scotland, drawing the ongoing Marvel UK series Knights of Pendragon as his first big assignment. On 2000AD, Erskine collaborated with the likes of Garth Ennis and Dan Abnett. An early effort with writer Warren Ellis, Silencers, was published in 2000 by Image Comics; other series he worked on at that time included Grant Morrison’s The Filth, Vertigo’s Hellblazer and Mark Millar’s The Authority. Another Vertigo credit, Army@Love, was an irreverent war-themed title done in collaboration with writer Rick Veitch. He reunited with writer Ennis on Virgin Comics’ Dan Dare. 

Three different incarnations of Cloak and Dagger were only a few of Rick Leonardi’s artistic achievements for Marvel. His other credits include Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants and Spider-Man 2099. At DC, he drew Batman family titles Batgirl and Nightwing, as well as comic/film crossover Green Lantern vs. Aliens. At Event Comics, he penciled Painkiller Jane.