Smash Pages Q&A: Ben Passmore on ‘Daygloayhole’ and more

The creator of ‘Your Black Friend’ discusses his work for Fantagraphics’ ‘Now’ anthology, The Nib, his influences and much more.

Ben Passmore’s short comic Your Black Friend was a sensation when it was published in 2016. It was nominated for an Eisner Award, won an Ignatz Award, was on NPR’s 2017 list of 100 Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels, and was turned into an animated short film. Passmore has become a regular contributor to The Nib and many other outlets, but for people who have been reading Passmore for years, this recent political work has been something of a departure for him. He first came to notice with Daygloayhole, which is a very different kind of comic, but shares a lot of the same sensibilities and ideas that motivate his political and essayistic comics.

This year saw the publication of Your Black Friend and Other Strangers, which collects a number of short comics by Passmore. Silver Sprocket is publishing a print version of Daygloayhole, the second issue of which is out this summer. Passmore has a comic in the current issue of the Fantagraphics anthology Now and has a comic in the June/July issue of The Believer.

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‘The Champions’ head for Weirdworld in issue #25

The team gets a D&D-esque makeover courtesy of Jim Zub, Sean Izaakse and Max Dunbar.

Remixing superheroes with different genres is a staple of the artform; who can forget Kurt Busiek and George Perez’s classic “Morgan Conquest,” which saw the Avengers recast as knights of the realm? It looks like the Champions will get their day in the sun as well, so I hope that armor breaths. Ms. Marvel and company will head to Weirdworld in issue #25 to save a couple of their teammates, courtesy of Jim Zub, Sean Izaakse and Max Dunbar.

“With two of their teammates having vanished into Weirdworld, the rest of the Champions have no choice but to follow them into that ever-changing landscape,” said SVP and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort in a press release. “However, the changes this will put them through are both profound and unexpected—and will lead to something new on the horizon.”

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