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

Early life

Born and raised in

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...

, Passmore attended art school at

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Uni ...

where he majored in comics with a minor in illustration.

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 The Nib is an American online daily comics publication focused on political cartoons, graphic journalism, essays and memoir about current affairs. Founded by cartoonist Matt Bors in September 2013, The Nib is an independent member-supported pu ...

. His book, ''Your Black Friend'', was originally self-published in 2016 and then reissued by

Silver Sprocket Silver Sprocket is a San Francisco-based Alternative comics, indie comics publisher and independent record label, founded in 2007 by Avi Ehrlich of Springman Records. In addition to publishing records and comics, Silver Sprocket also supports a ra ...

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 ''Black Skin, White Masks'' (french: Peau noire, masques blancs) is a 1952 book by philosopher Frantz Fanon. The book is written in the style of autoethnography, in which Fanon shares his own experiences while presenting a historical critique of ...

,'' Frantz Fanon's 1952 book about the impacts of racism. The book has been compared to the Jimbo comic strip by

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post- underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of '' Arcade: The Com ...

. Passmore's book won the 2017

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping ...

for Outstanding Comic, received an Eisner Award nomination that year for Best Single-Issue, and was featured on NPR's list of 100 favorite comics and graphic novels. The work has been adapted into a short animated film.

Publications

* Sports is Hell, published by

Koyama Press Koyama Press is a comics publishing company founded in 2007 by Annie Koyama and based in Canada. Since its establishment in 2007, Koyama Press has sought to promote and provide support to an array of emerging and established artists. These artist ...

in February 2020. The book is a satire about the breakout of a violent revolution during the Super Bowl, using football to explore themes of racism, resistance, white supremacy, allyship, identity, and alienation. It won the Eisner Award for Best Single Issue/One Shot in 2021. The book appears on ''The 100 Best Comics of the Decade'' List created by The Beat. * ''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." * 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 Silver Sprocket is a San Francisco-based indie comics publisher and independent record label, founded in 2007 by Avi Ehrlich of Springman Records. In addition to publishing records and comics, Silver Sprocket also supports a range of independen ...

. It follows two characters, including Passmore as himself, wandering around a post-apocalyptic New Orleans. It was nominated for an

Ignatz Ignatz is a masculine given name. Notable people with the given name * Ignatz Bubis (1927–1999), German Jewish leader and chairman of the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland from 1992 to 1999 * Ignatz Leo Nascher (1863–1944), Austrian-born, ...

Outstanding Series Award in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Passmore, Ben Living people 1983 births Ignatz Award winners African-American comics creators American comics writers African-American writers American comics artists Savannah College of Art and Design alumni American caricaturists 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people