Ben Passmore

Ben Passmore (born 1983)[1] is an American comics artist and political cartoonist.

Ben Passmore speaking at the Small Press Expo in November 2019.

Early life

Born and raised in Great Barrington, Massachusetts,[2] Passmore attended art school at Savannah College of Art and Design where he majored in comics with a minor in illustration.[3]

Career

Passmore's works, ranging from the fantastical to the autobiographical, contain social commentary on politics, activism, white supremacy, the United States, sports, and the experience of black Americans. He is a frequent contributor to the comics publication The Nib.[4] His book, Your Black Friend, was originally self-published in 2016 and then reissued by Silver Sprocket in 2018. The book is a collection of short vignettes offering the experiences of a black man in a world of white people. Your Black Friend was Inspired by Black Skin, White Masks, Frantz Fanon's 1952 book about the impacts of racism.[5] The book has been compared to the Jimbo comic strip by Gary Panter.[6] Passmore's book won the 2017 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Comic,[7] received an Eisner Award nomination that year for Best Single-Issue Comics,[8] and was featured on NPR's list of 100 favorite comics and graphic novels.[9] The work has been adapted into a short animated film.[10]

Publications
  • Sports is Hell, published by Koyama Press in February 2020. The book is a satire about the breakout of a violent revolution during the Super Bowl,[11] using football to explore themes of racism, resistance, white supremacy, allyship, identity, and alienation.[12] The book appears on The 100 Best Comics of the Decade List created by The Beat.[13]
  • BTTM FDRS, published with Ezra Claytan Daniels in February 2019 by Fantagraphics Books. The publisher describes the book as an "Afrofuturist horror-comedy about gentrification, hip hop, and cultural appropriation."[14]
  • DAYGLOAYHOLE was written while Passmore lived in New Orleans. It is a quarterly web-comic series published in 2017 and 2018 by Silver Sprocket Bicycle Club. It follows two characters, including Passmore as himself, wandering around a post-apocalyptic New Orleans.[2] It was nominated for an Ignatz Outstanding Series Award in 2019.[15]

References
  1. "Cartoonists Database". cartoonistsofcolor.com. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  2. adastracomix (2018-02-05). "From 'It's All Over' to 'Your Black Friend': the anarcho-comix of Ben Passmore". Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  3. Passmore, Ben. "Ben Passmore - LinkedIn Profile".
  4. "Ben Passmore". The Nib. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  5. "'Your Black Friend' Is Back, With Plenty To Say". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  6. Chute, Hillary (2018-07-27). "Cartoonists Who Draw in Order to Be Heard (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  7. Johanna (2017-09-17). "2017 Ignatz Award Winners". Comics Worth Reading. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  8. "Eisner Award Nominations 2017 Announced". Comics. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  9. "Let's Get Graphic: 100 Favorite Comics And Graphic Novels". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  10. ""Your Black Friend" animated short film by Ben Passmore, Alex Krokus & Krystal Downs - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  11. Leblanc, Philippe (2020-02-28). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  12. "Jazz great's graphic biography barely needs a word". thestar.com. 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  13. "The 100 Best Comics of the Decade". The Beat.
  14. "BTTM FDRS". Fantagraphics. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  15. "SPX 2019 Ignatz Nominees | SPX: The Small Press Expo". Retrieved 2020-12-08.


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