Dark Horse Comics has released the first artwork image from Frank Miller's upcoming comic book series Xerxes, which is a prequel to the comic book 300 which was turned into the 2007 feature film. Take a look at this brand new image of the title character below.

Xerxes lithograph image

The image, which is being sold on the Dark Horse site as a limited edition lithograph or a regular lithograph, also came with a description of Miller's graphic novel, which will be turned into a feature film as well.

Xerxes rose to power in fifth-century-BC Persia and became known as "The King of Kings," eventually raising and leading a massive army intent on ruthlessly destroying the hated Greeks who killed his father. Xerxes seeks nothing less than to become a god himself -- and achieves his wish!

Miller recently talked with the The Los Angeles Times about some aspects of the plot for Xerxes.

"The time frame begins 10 years before 300 and the story starts with the Battle of Marathon, which was killer to draw, by the way, even if it was a lot of work," Miller said.

He then went on to discuss the main character of Xerxes:

"The lead character is Themistocles, who became warlord of Greece and built their navy. The story is very different than 300 in that it involves Xerxes search for godhood. The existence of gods are presupposed in this story and the idea is that he well on his way to godhood by the end of the story."

Miller also mused on the scope of this tale:

"The story will be the same heft as 300 but it cover a much, much greater span of time -- it's 10 years, not three days," Miller said. "This is a more complex story. The story is so much larger. The Spartans in 300 were being enclosed by the page as the world got smaller. This story has truly vast subjects. The Athenian naval fleet, for instance, is a massive artistic undertaking and it dwarfed by the Persian fleet, which is also shown in this story. The story has elements of espionage, too, and it's a sweeping tale with gods and warriors."