Emperor Palpatine's elite, scarlet-garbed guards are a visual element of the movies that never become involved in the plot. Crimson Empire, a graphic novel set after the Emperor's death, finally reveals some of their secrets.

The guards are highly and brutally trained, forced to prove themselves against Darth Vader in combat and to follow the Emperor's orders without any thought or question, even if it means killing their friends. But after Palpatine is killed, one of the guards -- Carnor Jax -- attempts to seize power for himself and orchestrates the deaths of his peers. Only one other guard remains, Kir Kanos, and his loyalty to the Emperor has survived the Emperor's death.

The question isn't just which guard has the better skills, because Jax has the resources of the Empire at his back. Kanos falls in with a band of Rebels -- not because he owes them allegiance or believes in their cause, but because it's convenient to do so at the time.

The Rebels in this case are something of a cliche -- the last lines of their commander, Mirith Sinn, are among the hokiest I've read this week -- but it doesn't matter too much because the Rebels aren't the focus of this book. The interplay among the elite guards, both in the present and in flashbacks to their training, is welcome storytelling all around.

Crimson Empire is nonessential reading, but it's a good book nonetheless.