Lit Legacy Volume II --- one year in

The new version of Legacy has been running for a full year now, and I was hoping we could spend a few days talking about what we've liked or disliked, been impressed with/surprised by or disappointed with, and whether we're bummed or delighted or indifferent that it's wrapping up in time for the fall. We've had a thread for each issue, but it seems like we haven't had any general threads for the series as a whole since it was first announced --- now that we're twelve issues in, let's take some time for broader reflection and speculation. The series has definitely been good enough for deeper discussion, I think, but don't think that this an "OMG Legacy!!!!!2" lovefest; feel free to be critical and biting if it's how you feel.

To me, Legacy's second incarnation is the only bright spot left in the EU. I've lost interest in everything else save for Dawn of the Jedi, and if you've been following those threads you know that I haven't been digging its final arc. After this month Legacy will be the only EU that I'm even bothering with. What's great is that I don't like it simply because it's Legacy --- Bechko and Hardman have created a unique series that fits into the world John & Jan created but is still distinctly its own thing.

Ania Solo is a fantastic protagonist --- brash and hot-headed but in a likeable way, confident and independently-minded but not cocky or a loner, and someone who plays by her own rules but is still committed to doing the right thing. She and Kerra Holt (I've only read the Knight Errant novel btw) are SW's best female protagonists... ever? In a long time, certainly. Hell, scratch the female part entirely; Ania is one of SW's best protagonists altogether in a long time. I nominated her for the Wook's Miss Star Wars 2013, but she ended up placing fourth because Danni Quee is hawt. There's only so much you can do when you're up against twelve-year-old fanboys.

Ania's party members are a great group, too. An Imperial Knight gone rogue is a concept that the original Legacy hinted could be a fascinating story, and Jao is proving that said deserter type can still be following the Force in the pursuit of good. Sauk is an effective sidekick who's now being given a chance to shine as a kind of de facto group leader in the absence of Ania, and AG-37 routinely steals the show as a droid wearing a trenchcoat. That he's a droid is largely irrelevant to his character, though --- he's no Threepio or Artoo; he's a full-fledged member of the series' big four who owns the ship on which they travel and is basically in charge of where they go and what they do. Nobody owns him. The droid sidekick role is instead played by the comm droid, to whom I've taken quite the shine for his silent but spunky Artooesque qualities.

To be honest, I wasn't crazy about the series early on. Going into the final issue of the first arc, I felt that there was too much action and too little character development, a bad guy with unclear and thus uninteresting motivations, and pretty formulaic "Heroes are captured. Heroes break out of jail. Heroes have firefight with bad guy" sequences. A few issues into arc #2, however, I had done a complete 180. The characters were being fleshed out through their actions (and decisions), the bad guy with suddenly clear motivations was being used sparingly and coming off as more of a menace than he had before, and the expanding look at the greater galactic picture was making Ania's small-time adventures feel real and important.

I'm not without minor criticisms, for sure --- I wasn't too thrilled with the most recent issue (spoilers). And this may sound strange, but I think that the series' world-building suffers a little by leaving so many things nameless. The planet they visited in Issue 11 was referenced again in Issue 12, but only the spaceport they visited was given a name --- what was the planet's name? A simple detail like that gives it more personality than does leaving it as nameless planet #16. Ditto AG-37's nameless freighter, in which they've been flying around for the past ten issues. As I said in an earlier thread: "a cast of characters is always more likeable once their group starts to get fleshed out with details like this. The Mynock was an essential part of Legacy; Firefly wouldn't have been the same if the Serenity had been nameless, and even the Twilight was a pretty cool recurring fixture in The Clone Wars. AG's ship isn't all that memorable without a name, and I wouldn't even have been able to tell you that it had been the same ship all along had I not been flipping through the back issues for some Wook research earlier today." The comm droid, though, is better without a name --- his heroics are all the more amazing since he's apparently just some generic nameless droid.

Anyway, I'll shut up for now. I know that a lot of people have read at least the first trade of this series, so I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on Legacy: Volume II as a whole. What you've seen so far, what you hope to see in the final six issues, etc, etc. Go.

 

It was slow to start and still remains so. I don't mind it and still spend my money to buy it but if it drags on you start to lose interest.

 

Well I've liked a lot since the first issue, so I'm somewhat biased. Ania has been a great protagonist, although we'll have to see just how great once we learn more about her past. Not only is she female, but she isn't Force sensitive, so a very nice change in lead protagonist. She definitely has had an interesting life so far, but not having to put up with Cade's angst is a huge plus.

AG-37 has been a fantstic character-an assassin droid that's possibly one of the nicest characters in the comic. Other characters in-universe have already commented on what kind of assassin droid is he supposed to be, as well as sounding like he has been around for decades. Experienced and still quite skilled amd owing a promise to a Solo, his past probably remains the most mysterious next to Ania.

The Triumvirate has been a bit of a disappointment though. Marasiah has slipped into the antagonistic role her father formerly filled by her father- not evil, but clashing with allies often. K'kruhk has just spouted a few platitudes so far. We haven't actually seen the Jedi do much of anything, but sadly the Legacy era has always neglected the NJO (since the first Legacy comic was centered around Cade and he didn't care about being a Jedi most of the time).

Stazi has been pretty good though, charging in to rescue the Mon Calamari. And while it was cool to see him landing a bunch of Imperial Knight (trainees) to save the Mon Calamari, wish we had gotten a line about why he couldn't have asked the Jedi for help, oe why he and K'kruhk couldn't have outvoted Marasiah (but then K'kruhk hasn't done much for years in-universe) or why he could't have gotten a Jedi team instead of going behind Marasiah's back.

Wredd could be interesting. Very ambitious, somewhat powerful, and not as fanatcal or zealous as the One Sith were. He's also took out at least some of the lingering One Sith infiltrators, another plus.

Draco has become Marasiah's yes man (not that he ever disagreed with her much), but while unfortunately there's no sign of Ganner, both Jao and Yalta Val have been interesting characters- loyal Imperial Knights who both have a strong sense of ethics over politics. Sauk is another fun supporting character, his current life due to events in the original Legacy series.

Legacy volume 2 has been great, while I'm sad we're only getting 18 issues, I'm glad we got more Legacy before the end of Dark Horse's run. And perhaps most glad not to have to put up with Cade anymore, as I like Ania a lot more. Also loving the focus on the Solo legacy- since Han married into a family of Jedi, all his kids became Jedi, and his most likely descendants became Imperials, so AG's references to Han's heroic nature shining through was very appreciated.

 

The sparse snapshots we've gotten of Sia so far have had a very Garnet-in-Final-Fantasy-IX feel to them --- thrust into power at a very young age (she was only about eighteen in Volume I) after the death of a parent, and forced to sacrifice her youthful and impulsive qualities in order to hold a kingdom together. It makes sense that she comes off as a hardass, but, like Nobody, I'd also like to see her as more than just an antagonist to the written-much-more-likeably Stazi. As for K'Kruhk, he's useless because he's always useless.

As to why Bechko and Hardman are using so many Imperial Knights and no Jedi at all, I think there are a few reasons for it. The IKs are one of Legacy's flagship additions to the EU, and their inclusion in Volume II does wonders to make it feel like a Legacy-era story (this was especially true in the first arc), whereas Jedi can fit into any era and their stories have been done to death. A Jedi gone rogue is nothing new, but Jao is the first IK we've seen go rogue beyond a brief flashback to Darth Havok killing Sia's mom. Jao and Yalta are both far more interesting than they'd be if they were Jedi. It also makes sense in-universe that the IKs are the ones serving as the peacekeepers and posterchildren of the new government --- their order and its headquarters remained intact throughout the war, while the Jedi were largely scattered and had to sacrifice what little infrastructure they had when they fled Taivas. They have a lot more rebuilding to do.

I was itching for more Triumvirate scenes for a while, but now that Ania's adventures have gotten as good as they have, I'm happier with fewer Coruscant detours. We'll probably see a lot more of Sia in the final arc --- an encounter between her and Ania is inevitable, as is Wredd trying to kill her as per Jao's vision. Doesn't seem like there's a need for her or her partners in crime in the current arc.

 

I'm a little behind on my reading for the second arc, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Is it "slower" than most of the KILL MAIM BURN stories that Star Wars has been filled with in recent years? Yes, but I'm enjoying that, as it's a refreshing change from the "Sith War" cliches we've seen in TOR and under-a-different-name DOTJ, which I also enjoy, but it's nice that Legacy Vol. 2 is providing something different for a change.

I'm going to be very, very saddened when it has to end, as while DOTJ was able to rush to a quick conclusion, I'm guessing this is unlikely to reach any climax...? Which is a pity, as even if they were never going to have time to explore all the loose ends left behind from Legacy, I'll be sad if Ania ends up like the cast of Invasion and her ending never told.

This is what made me wish Dark Horse had done some final Tales-type one-shots this year to resolve any outstanding character arcs that are unlikely to ever be heard from again. Oh well.

FF9!!!

I suddenly feel socially accepted with the world now using analogies from my own childhood.

 

Part of me wonders why they don't use these sorts of plots and story telling ideas for the EU novels. It's been years now since Legacy and other SW comics have eclipsed novel story telling. It's no secret that recent novel arcs haven't quite lived up to standard. So disappointing overall, I know the comic medium is a great platform for storytelling, but can't that awesomeness extend into novel writing too? Or does it have to be just one medium? Very frustrating.

Everything I've read of the latest Legacy is encouraging, but it's just not enough.

 

FFIX was incredibly underrated.

And I, too, was hoping for Dark Horse to go out with a bang, whether it be character-arc resolving one shots like you suggested or something completely outrageous like Kir Kanos dueling Luke with a twelve-bladed lightsaber aboard a crashing Moffship while Jaxxon takes bets from all of the Mofference attendees. Instead, we're getting this. I guess you can't win 'em all.

 

I like it a lot so far. Ania is a great character, and I am glad that we have a female protagonist for a change (yeah, I know she's not the only female protagonist in SW comics, books, etc, but most leads are males). The story feels more intimate than Legacy volume 1, and personally, I enjoy these kind of stories more than the more epic, grand scale ones. AG-37 is definitely one of my favorite droids in all SW. Now one thing I'm glad and disappointed about at the same time is the Jedi. I'm glad because Legacy volume 2 is one of the few SW stories (that I follow) that don't involve Jedi a lot/at all. That is a good change IMO, but that also disappoints me in this case, because I feel like in this period of the SW universe we should see more of them, and so far nothing. I am not sure that we will now since Legacy ends in a few months, so I don't think we'll get that chance. It's a shame considering how much potential this series has. The art is great (especially from Gabriel Hardman). I will certainly miss this comic, and I can only hope Marvel does as good with SW like DH did.

 

It looks like the final three issues will be penciled by someone other than Hardman. A couple days ago he tweeted:

And then a couple minutes later in response to a question:

I wonder if they'll rotate back to Brian Albert Thies for the final three. I really enjoyed his work on Outcasts of the Broken Ring and would be happy to see him again, but simply for the fun of speculating I'll wonder aloud if Dark Horse will embrace the idea of going out in a blaze of glory and do something like bring back Francia. Or even.... Hoooooooooon!!!!

I think the absence of the Jedi in this series is a real benefit to the Legacy era. Volume II's focus on the adventures of a ragtag freighter crew with only one Force-sensitive (but he's an armorless Imperial Knight gone rogue) is a fantastic demonstration of how much potential for different kinds of storytelling this era has. John & Jan's unparallelled world-building created this massively fleshed-out era, and it can easily support stories beyond light side army swinging lightsabers at dark side army. Back during Legacy's original run, we always hoped that the era surrounding 137 ABY would be fleshed out across mediums through multiple series and multiple points of view. With the Disney buyout and the end of the EU, I feel very fortunate that we even got Ania's adventures at all.

 

I also had problems with the first few issues of Legacy Vol. II, but it really hit its stride for me after that. It also is basically the only EU thing I'm interested in at this point. I've said it before, but conceptually I feel like it's a modern Daley Han Solo trilogy.

 

I missed an issue at the start of the 2nd arc and am waiting for the current issue in the 3rd arc but I love this series. The lack of Jedi is somewhat depressing but its been fun. Very different from Legacy vol. 1 but still fun. Thank heavens for the comics in the Legacy era.

 

I'd argue that the Legacy era (130 ABY+) was hardly fleshed-out at all. The problem with the comic medium is that you can only flesh out and detail so much. Dark Horse's Republic comics were awesome but it helped that they were playing in an era that was touched upon previously, or at least had support materials like novels.

With Legacy, there were so many details that could have been touched upon but comics alone could never hope to fill. The Legacy Era Campaign Guide for the SW Saga Edition RPG helped, but left much to the imagination. So many details of Legacy seemed far fetched. The Galactic Alliance totally collapsing in lieu of the Fel Empire? The majority of the Fel Empire just being cool with Krayt taking over? Krayt somehow keeping control of the entire galaxy for 7 years? His empire in turn collapsing after one or two major battles? All of these questions need more details that we will probably never get.

I'd never been a fan of Legacy as it is though, I may be a bit biased.

 

Outcasts of the Broken Ring really solidified the series in my eyes. The first arc was a tad bit predicable and other than a few scant scenes with the Galactic Triumvirate, felt too disconnected from the first Legacy. Other than a few characters and the Imperial Knight uniforms, we had little to none in terms of "visuals" that connected us to the first series. Setting the first arc on a new planet may of been a big factor that added to this.

By the next arc, things start to look better. Familiar locales, more familiar species, etc. Suddenly, we see Dac and it's ring shipyard again, we see well known Galactic Alliance and Imperial capital ships and fighters, etc. Even making the villain a standard One Sith was perfect, as it tied to the aftermath of the first series. It is a shame we won't be getting much more Legacy, as this series really just hit it's stride and has huge potential.

--Adm. Nick

 

Legacy's world was definitely rich and fleshed out --- it had a primary focus and several B plots that all concerned the fate of the galaxy, but there was so much world building that came along for the ride. We got a criminal underworld (one of the only times in the last ten years?) that was fleshed out through Rav, The Wheel, and Black Sun; we got detailed looks at what was happening on random planets like Kiffex and Tatooine; we got a rare glimpse into the still-affected-by-the-Vong Coruscant underbellies; we got the perspectives of low-level fighter pilots and stormtroopers, etc, etc. There were so many brief glimpses that helped enrich the era and that left open the possibility of future stories. A Joker Squad miniseries, new Rogue Squadron novels, some seedy underworld tales --- John & Jan built a very detailed era with the potential to support an entire EU of its own. It was brilliant precisely because it was in an era that had never been touched upon previously.

I'd argue that comics are a perfect medium for fleshing out and detailing things, as Jan's art always managed to do just that. Volume II brings together details from Volume I like the plight of Dac refugees, the idea of an Imperial Knight gone rogue, and a junk dealer living among the era's criminal underclass. It's a story that couldn't happen had John & Jan not built such a detailed world.

I got the same feeling from the Knight Errant novel. Like the classic Han and Lando adventures, it does its own thing in a small & specific region of space, featuring a hero working against forces specific to that region while the rest of the galaxy's war seems very far away. As such it has the freedom to experiment. Should I just read the Knight Errant comics already? I liked the book quite a bit.

 

Yeah, read the comics. I don't think they fully live up to the book until the third arc, but the first two arcs are still quality.

 

Going to be so sad when this series is over. When will we find out how AG knows Han?

 

so have they said whether we'll find out how she's a Solo yet? because I'm mildly interested in this but I've been holding off checking it out until they do.

 

They've just started getting into it in the last issue or two.

wait what

 

I've been following the whole series and it is one of my favorites of the entire EU. To me it's a very human story, and is actually quite refreshing and unique among the modern EU. I enjoy having a slow paced, more personal story that keeps me wondering what's going to happen next. This series is a satisfying end to the EU, as it reminds me that in-Universe the story still goes on for the people in the GFFA, even if we in the real world won't get to see it thanks to the pending Disneyocalpypse...

 

The last issue has been announced for this series. The end is in sight............................

 

This is probably the only comic series that I've followed from start to end. Okay, I missed issue 6 but point still stands. Got 13 issues into Volume 1 before the store I bought issues from closed or something like that. This hurts so much. Not even funny.

 

Get your head around this one then - if the age on your profile is accurate - I've been reading DHC SW comics for nearly your entire life! I stumbled on a chapter of Dark Empire in a newsagent in 1992....

Damn, I feel old!

 

Yep. Born October 1991. That's just insane. I can't imagine that.