Ancestral Recall Combines Black History With Everything Everywhere All at Once

Two veterans of DC's Milestone initiative are joining forces at AHOY Comics for a new series called Ancestral Recall, one that mixes Black history with equal parts Everything Everywhere All At Once and Don Quixote. If that sounds like a winning combination, then you'll definitely want to check out our exclusive preview of the first issue.

Head to the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at Ancestral Recall:

Ancestral Recall is a collaboration between writer Jordan Clark (Aquaman) and artist Atagun İlhan (Poison Ivy). The first issue features covers by İlhan and Kary Randolph.

Here's AHOY's official description of the first issue:

Melvin Warring is a famed abstract painter, known for some groundbreaking work in the late 80s, who now lives a reclusive life in East Oakland with his wife and business manager June. One day as he’s picking up June’s prescription after her hip surgery a force suddenly overcomes Melvin, displacing him from time itself. Meanwhile Myran Kang, Melvin and June’s preteen nextdoor neighbor, has noticed a string of disappearances: a few unhoused people who normally set up in the park, some people at her grandmother's nursing home, a few of the bus drivers on her normal route... She has a feeling it’s more than a coincidence but can’t get anyone to listen to her — until June disappears too. As Melvin and Myran dig deeper into the mystery, Melvin finds he’s literally able to tap into the power of Black history when under duress and access the knowledge and abilities of Black people throughout time — everyone from writers and musicians to sword fighters and acrobats, transforming Black history into an actual super power. Will it be enough for Melvin and Myran to discover and disrupt the plans of the mysterious organization disappearing people and find a way to bring them back?

“Ancestral Recall is one part Everything Everywhere All At Once and one part Don Quixote,” said series editor Sarah Litt in a statement. “And it’s two parts funny. Jordan and Atagun have created a surreal, mystical, charming powerhouse of a comic that will make you laugh, cry, travel through time, and reckon with the power of Black history in each stunning panel.”

Ancestral Recall #1 will be released in Fall 2025.

For more exclusive previews, check out our first look at the music-themed Acid Box and the Carmen Sandiego-inspired Host Mortem.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.