Marvel.com: Cool! How might this story differ from the other AGE OF REPUBLIC one-shots?

Houser: This is a mostly silent issue. Grievous is a character who speaks primarily through action. This is especially of contrast to the Padmé issue also out this month. As a life-long politician, Padmé's power comes from her words.

Marvel.com: How do you dig down into a character like Grievous? When and what was your moment of understanding with him that informed this story?

Houser: The first time I ever saw Grievous was in the Genndy Tartakovsky-produced animated shorts, where he felt like a horror movie monster hunting Jedi instead of teenagers. While sticking with the more recent characterization of him, I still wanted to play with the merciless hunter we were introduced to.

Marvel.com: A Jedi temple is involved in this story—what is it about the Jedi that make both them and the Force of ongoing interest to you?

Houser: The Force and those who harness it will always be my favorite aspect of the Star Wars universe. I love that we've seen generations of Force-users struggle to use and understand the Force with varying levels of success. It's an enormous, complex thing beyond the complete understanding of even the oldest and wisest of characters, which gives us so much room for new stories and exploration.

The fact that Star Wars has been around for so long and the workings of the Force still doesn't have easy answers or a pat explanation is remarkable. And at the same time, I've written hundreds of pages of Star Wars comics that have had nothing at all to do with the Force. As tightly woven into the fabric of the galaxy it is, there's still plenty of room for non-Force-users such as Grievous to play a pivotal role.