Lit Legacy Vol 2. #14: Wanted: Ania Solo, part 4 (of 5)

Corinna Bechko (W), Gabriel Hardman (W/A), Jordan Boyd (C), and Agustin Alessio (Cover)
On sale Apr 23
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
Ongoing
A look into Ania Solo’s prison-camp past reveals a secret connection to the brutal bounty hunter who is desperate to bring her to justice—dead, not alive!
But bounty hunters are only part of Ania’s problems!
• The answer to “Who is Ania Solo?” is at hand!

 

Can these stories just be released now?

I hate waiting.

 

Dawww elephant-footed buggy.

 

Um, what the heck is that?! Oh whatever, the more interesting thing is "prison-camp past"- so Ania's spent time in prison, huh? So, past connection, no surprise given the #11 preview, already seems like its personal with that bounty hunter. Nice cover, ugly creature, but nice art and detail (such as that moon in the background). Just another few issues to go, I'm really going to miss this series.

 

Based on Ania's age, she either was in prison during the Allied campaign to remove Krayt or the earlier Sith-Imperial War. I am really hoping that the prison she is in ties back to one of those wars, as opposed to being some random prison that has no connection to the greater galaxy.

--Adm. Nick

 

Back in Issue 7, she made a comment like "The war changed a lot of people..." with a far-off look in her eyes.

Although I wonder if we'll get a Jarael twist here. "No, Zayne... I was a slaver."

 

Do we know what # the last issue will be?

 

My guess is that issue #15 wraps up this new arc and that #16-18 will have to be an abbreviated arc that ends Darth Wredd and brings closure to Ania's journey. Shame to see, given how good this series is getting. My guess is that limited issue space will mean these last issues will be light on the secondary or "B" plot (state of galaxy & Triumvirate deliberations), which will be a shame as those moments help make this very personal story have a connection to the greater galaxy.

--Adm. Nick

 

Preview is here:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=21151

My favourite page:



That is one bad-ass droid!

 

Why can't more comics have a bad-ass droid like that?! You'll never see Threepio do something like that, and I have a hard time remembering the last time Artoo did something like this either (off-hand not since Mindor, but my memory isn't that good).

At least they're all on the same planet now. Now Ania just have to deal with all her other problems (raining sharp glass, mobile shelter, etc.).

 

That's the other thing that's clever on those pages - it's raining glass! How often do we see strange weather like that on strange planets?

 

Great preview. We were all hoping for the glass rain to come into play, and it looks like Bechko and Hardman are doing really cool things with it. Giant bugs that eat it? Badass AG strutting right through it? Awesome.

Hopefully the comm droid will make his triumphant return in this issue --- he'd be safe from the glass too!

 

So are those animals silicon-based or something? I'm intrigued.

 

It reminds me of the classic Harry Harrison space opera parody Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers, with the aliens who get drunk by eating glass bottles rather than imbibing their contents.

 

Glass rain? Now this is the kind of alien planet we so rarely see in SW. Very cool!

 

Oh, I like the sound of that story, will have to remember to go look for it.

 

Well, the comm droid does show up- not really doing much, but it is present. Also nice to see Ramid and Ania compare stories now that they have a moment- even if it is because they're hiding from raining glass, but still a relatively quiet moment.

No answers about Ania's past yet (if it turns out not to be that mysterious, fine) but as for Ania is wanted for the murder of an Imperial Knight, we get a few more clues.

Spoiler

It might just be me, but I just love seeing something as mundane as that they're still reorganizing data after the Second Imperial Civil War. I can't remember the last time I saw a Star Wars character actually go research something (the search for Zonoma Sekot maybe?). Yalta Val is still great, as now he's investigated and saw that the evidence doesn't match Ania being the killer, so there is of course something else going on.

Almost the end of the arc- hopefully we'll get all the answers in the finale. It's been a quiet arc, especially how much action was in the second arc, but with a good cast of characters like this, I don't mind.

 

The planet they are on is taking inhospitable very literal.

 

You know what? I really liked this issue. Several different storylines are all converging in the way that you hope they would in an arc's penultimate issue, and Bechko & Hardman are clearly paying enough attention to each character in order to give them all important roles to play. Ania and Ramid have a nice conversation under the speeder bike that reveals a little bit about their past and brings them closer together; AG walks through the glass rain like a badass but then, after finding Ania, cedes the rest of the issue to Jao & Sauk; Yalta uncovers some info on Coruscant that's clearly going to determine how this arc ends and transitions into the next one --- Bechko and Hardman really know how to make this series an ensemble piece that still keeps Ania as its primary focus. It's just really great writing.

And let's talk about the art. Hardman gives us some absolutely gorgeous visuals of the raining glass. Not only AG walking through it, but the page of Ania and Ramid taking refuge under the speeder --- those first two panels of the mountains and the stone ruins --- wow. Hey, that was one of the preview pages, so let's take a closer look.



Is this series really ending in four months? The writing is top-notch, the art is as sharp as the falling glass, the characters are well-developed and likeable... blegh.

A bit of an anticlimactic return for the Comm droid, but I can accept the fact that there's too much going on already for him to be the hero this time. There was something a little unfortunate in this issue, though --- the first canonical appearance (as far as I know, somebody correct me if I'm wrong) of the name "Second Imperial Civil War." It's been the name used on Wookieepedia for the last five years, but as Xicer pointed out on the article's talk page, the Legacy Era Campaign Guide simply called it the "Imperial Civil War," and the article name "Second Imperial Civil War" wasn't an appropriate one. I've been meaning to change it for months, but I held off because a lot of other page moves and article-correcting would have come with it --- but alas, the page move is now unnecessary, because Wookieepedia has, for better or for worse, influenced canon once again. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the "Second Imperial Civil War."

 

Spoiler: Spoilery Guess

So, the bounty hunter is Ania's twin sister, right? It first occurred to me with Ania's "there's something about her" line, and then the mechanical hand combined with everyone thinking Ania's the murderer kind of clinches it--right?

 

Who is Ania Solo?

 

You are the worst kind of person.

 

Spoiler: 90s throwback

Maybe they'll get Paul Gulacy to do the art for the next issue. Ania will take the mask off of the bounty hunter but we won't even be able to tell that they're supposed to be twins.