Just like Jordan Clark and Atagun Ilhan’s Ancestral Recall, we were able to travel back to the past and to the future to speak to Clark about the beginnings and endings of his acclaimed series from AHOY Comics.
Following up on our initial interview with Clark, we had more questions for him about his entire journey, the trade paperback collection (in stores on April 15), and some of the choices he made throughout Ancestral Recall in this exclusive interview.
When we last spoke, the first issue of Ancestral Recall was just about to be released. Now that the story is finished, what are your thoughts looking back on your process and how it all turned out?
Jordan Clark: Great to be talking with you again! I’m incredibly proud of what we were able to do with Ancestral Recall. The reception has been incredible and shows that this kind of book has an audience.
Initially, what was your concept for Ancestral Recall?
Clark: Initially I wanted to try something that would challenge me. I had this idea of this weird guy who could tap into historical figures and was kind of like a local private eye for people who didn’t want to go to the police. That all morphed into Melvin but a lot of the core concepts stayed, with this offbeat character rooted in Black history.
Atagun’s art really shapes the narrative, especially with all of the historical elements. Was there one image or sequence that really impressed you?
Clark: I feel incredibly grateful to have been able to work with Atagun on this. His ability to go from action to quiet moment and back is incredible. It’s hard to pick just one moment, but if I had to choose, I’d say just all of issue #4. His work there was so good, giving life to Melvin and June’s decades of love.
Why did you decide to make your protagonist a painter vs. another type of artist/creator?
Clark: For me, Black painters have played a key role in the shaping of African American culture and beyond that, the way that we see ourselves. All Black artists have played a role in this for sure, but I think when you look at the work of Laura Wheeler Waring (who we drew an intentional link between), Kerry James Marshall, Basquiat, it’s an act of autonomy and resistance. To imagine yourself not simply in a different way than the world sees you, but to get to imagine yourself in ways the larger world never could, or to simply just document the things larger culture deemed unimportant. They gave us not just a visual language but a voice.
Is there an era that you would like to travel to or visit, but not stay there?
Clark: Oh man, there’s so many time periods and events I would love to see. I think the beautiful thing about Black history is how we’ve been a part of so much. People tend to highlight the negatives but there’s so much beauty there too. Being able to go to a Sun-Ra concert, to the March on Washington, to visit Harlem for a day in the 1920’s. There’s so much rich history, to just see it for a moment would be incredible.
Upcoming work?
Clark: A few things I can’t talk about in depth yet, but if you liked Ancestral Recall a lot of that same spirit and intent is there. Also working on some non-fiction stuff that hopefully will be up soon and working on a Kickstarter that I won’t give too much away on because it’s early days but very much lines up with the idea of Black history and time travel.
The Ancestral Recall trade paperback edition will be available at your local comic book shop on April 15.
