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Ben Passmore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ben Passmore
Ben Passmore speaking at the Small Press Expo in November 2019
Born1983 (age 42–43)
Great Barrington, Massachusetts, U.S.
AreaCartoonist, Artist
Notable works
Your Black Friend
AwardsIgnatz Award, 2017
Eisner Award, 2021

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

Early life

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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

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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 was 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,[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

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  • Your Black Friend (self-published, 2016; reissued by Silver Sprocket, 2018)
  • DAYGLOAYHOLE was written while Passmore lived in New Orleans. It is a quarterly webcomics 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 Award for Outstanding Series in 2019.[11]
  • 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."[12] It was named one of the best books of 2019 by Hyperallergic magazine, the Chicago Public Library, and the New York Public Library, and was nominated for both Eisner and Harvey awards. It's currently in development as a feature film.[13]
  • 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,[14] using football to explore themes of racism, resistance, white supremacy, allyship, identity, and alienation.[15] It won the Eisner Award for Best Single Issue/One Shot in 2021.[16] The book appears on The 100 Best Comics of the Decade List created by The Beat.[17]
  • Black Arms to Hold You Up, published by Pantheon Books on October 7, 2025. A fictionalized version of Passmore and an invented revolutionary father traverse a history of black armed struggle. This heavily-researched and citational work draws on figures and movements including Robert Charles, The UNIA, Robert F. Williams, The Republic of New Afrika, Assata Shakur, MOVE, Sanyika Shakur, and Micah Xavier Johnson. It has been nominated for a 2026 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work.[18]


References

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  1. ↑ "Cartoonists Database". cartoonistsofcolor.com. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  2. 1 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. ↑ "SPX 2019 Ignatz Nominees | SPX: The Small Press Expo". Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  12. ↑ "BTTM FDRS". Fantagraphics. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  13. ↑ Cowen, Dave (June 27, 2025). "UPGRADE SOUL - SerioComics 72 + Q&A with Author Ezra Claytan Daniels". SerioComics. Substack.
  14. ↑ Leblanc, Philippe (2020-02-28). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  15. ↑ "Jazz great's graphic biography barely needs a word". thestar.com. 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  16. ↑ "SDCC 2021's Eisner Award Winners: Klan Smashing, Rabbit Samurai, & More". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  17. ↑ "The 100 Best Comics of the Decade". The Beat.
  18. ↑ "Nominees Announced for 2026 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards". ComicCon. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
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