Thanks to the 2007 film adaptation by Zack Snyder, 300 has become one of Frank Miller’s best-known works. The legendary comic creator is renowned for a host of genre landmarks from Sin City to The Dark Knight Returns (and its just-wrapped threequel, Dark Knight III: The Master Race) but his retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae definitely embedded itself in the 21st-century zeitgeist. That story focused on the ancient Spartans, but for a few years now Miller has tossed around the idea of doing a prequel comic told from the Persian side. EW can exclusively reveal that project will be titled Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander and is due from Dark Horse next year. Check out an exclusive preview of the first official artwork above, featuring the title character facing off against a Greek foe.

To celebrate the new series, Miller will give a special signing session at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. On Friday, July 21, Miller will be signing at the Dark Horse booth from 12-1:30 p.m. Wristbands for the event will be distributed at random drawings at the Dark Horse booths on Thursday and Friday morning. Every fan who wins a wristband will also get a complimentary Xerxes lithograph.

As the title suggests, the book will focus on the Persian emperor Xerxes, the so-called “King of Kings” who raised a massive army to invade Greece in the fifth century B.C. to get revenge for his father’s death and become a god. The title suggests the story will also look forward to the rise of Alexander the Great, who destroyed the Persian Empire a few centuries after Xerxes’ reign.

Look out for Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander, due outfrom Dark Horse in 2018.