Marassa Jumeaux are twin loas in Vodou. Traditionally they are represented as being three divine entities who act as a go-between for the creator and the worshipper. In a way it’s a magnification of a twin-sense. It helps to understand how twins relate to the world, and the way one can sense when the other is in danger, or feel when one is near. Now imagine the Marassa as space pirates, one is retired and one has adopted a wooden child. Issues one and two of ‘Marassa’ from Greg Anderson-Elysee uses the twin relationship to reignite your love of space opera.
Mara is a princess, with two children, a prince for a husband and a queen for a mother-in-law who looks as if they’re made out of constellations. She’s also a former pirate. Her twin brother Sa is still in the game and he’s brought a map of the family treasure with him. Sa sees this as an opportunity to get the band back together. Though Mara confesses that she misses the adventure, she feels a sense of responsibility to her life the way it is now and more importantly the peace she’s found. Sa, however is still seeking the family treasure and pushes on. Throughout ‘Marassa’ there are a set of characters who make up a multicultural, multi-species world that is entertaining. At one point in the first issue a bounty hunter believed to be killed comes after the ship that has captured Sa. It becomes an adventurous chase where there aren’t clearly defined lines of the good guys. Still, you root for Sa because Elysee has lulled you into becoming invested in him. Sa’s the goodtime uncle, the exciting brother, an expert lover and the person who’ll tell it like it is. You don’t want anything bad to happen to him. Then there’s the artwork which enriches the narrative. Though some of the characters are of the same species, they aren’t repetitive splotches in the background. Eye shapes, even hair types help you tell the characters apart. But the best thing about comic-books is what happens in issue one where so much can be said in a panel with no words. That scene where Sa’s son Petite is silently crying will cause you to take stock where in only a few pages you’ve become emotionally invested in what happens next. And that’s only the first issue.
Issue two bangs on and doesn’t allow you to take a breath. That catchphrase of no one hearing you scream in space is put to the test by Elysee and his team as a new character Luna is introduced into the fray. Luna becomes embroiled in Sa’s search for what’s known as Kavo’s bones. But first she heads to the planet Sankofa. The Ghana word loosely meaning to go back and collect what you’ve left behind, sankofa is essentially what Luna is doing for Sa. Both his lover Shelly and sister Mara also attempt to figure out what’s happening. Multi concepts of black speculative fiction come into play through the languages spoken, as well as the small doll of Sa that Shelly holds. Spanish and French Patois are unapologetically spoken. No one is here to cater to your lack of knowledge of the world. And yet you don’t have to be fluid in another language to get what the characters are saying. The use of real languages instead of perhaps, made up out-of-space ones grounds this narrative in a plausible world. There are people of color who’ll be in outer space, being royal, or living as pirates, or owning a bar on a beach. It’s all good.
Overall, ‘Marassa’ is the space romp you need in your life.
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