Uploaded September 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How do cartoonists confront the notion that public institutions that we should be able to trust are often corrupt and racist? How are they reacting to how public protest is met with military force and the ways in which gentrification is a literal and figurative act of violence? Join moderator Robin Enrico as he engages Ben Passmore (BTTM FDRS), Ezra Claytan Daniels (BTTM FDRS, Upgrade Soul), and Sophie Yanow (War Of Streets And Houses, The Contradictions) as they discuss the ways that they face these issues head-on.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
EZRA CLAYTAN DANIELS is a mixed-race (black/white) writer and illustrator based in Los Angeles, CA. His critically acclaimed graphic novel series, The Changers, began a unique career peppered with collaborative multimedia projects ranging from video games to animation to feature documentaries. Ezra’s graphic novel collaboration with Ben Passmore, entitled BTTM FDRS, was released in 2019 by Fantagraphics Books. BTTM FDRS was named one of the best books of 2019 by Chicago Public Library, New York Public Library, and Hyperallergic Magazine, and was nominated for both Eisner and Harvey awards. BTTM FDRS is currently in development as a feature film. Ezra is currently working as a screenwriter with several unannounced projects for both theatrical release and major streaming networks.
Buy Ezra Claytan Daniels’ comics here: bookshop.org/contributors/ezra-claytan-daniels-9c3db85d-0cc3-40a4-8594-966f6ac83100
BEN PASSMORE lives in Philly. His comics are about crime, monsters, anarchism, sexual dysfunction, police brutality, art theory, and his feels. Creator of DAYGLOAYHOLE and Goodbye, his comic Your Black Friend won the 2017 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Comic, as well as being nominated for an Eisner Award. His illustrations have appeared in publications such as including the New York Times, Irene, Now: The New Comics Anthology,and Believer Magazine. Ben contributes political/social editorial comics to The Nib, and his latest book is Bttm Fdrs with Ezra Claytan Daniels.
Buy Ben Passmore’s comics here: bookshop.org/books?keywords=ben+passmore
SOPHIE YANOW is an artist and writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Contradictions is her first book with Drawn & Quarterly, the webcomic of which won an Eisner Award and was nominated for the Ringo, and Harvey awards. Yanow is also the author of What is a Glacier? and War of Streets and Houses. Her comics have appeared in The New Yorker, The Guardian, Fusion, Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Nib. She has been a MacDowell Colony Fellow, and her translation of Dominique Goblet’s Pretending is Lying received the Scott Moncrieff Prize for translation from French. Yanow has taught at the Center for Cartoon Studies, the New Hampshire Institute of Art, and The Animation Workshop in Denmark.
Buy Sophie Yanow’s comics here:
bookshop.org/contributors/sophie-yanow-09cf3cf7-826a-454f-9de2-48beb564d78d
drawnandquarterly.com/contradictions
uncivilizedbooks.com/war-of-streets-and-houses
How do cartoonists confront the notion that public institutions that we should be able to trust are often corrupt and racist? How are they reacting to how public protest is met with military force and the ways in which gentrification is a literal and figurative act of violence? Join moderator Robin Enrico as he engages Ben Passmore (BTTM FDRS), Ezra Claytan Daniels (BTTM FDRS, Upgrade Soul), and Sophie Yanow (War Of Streets And Houses, The Contradictions) as they discuss the ways that they face these issues head-on.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
EZRA CLAYTAN DANIELS is a mixed-race (black/white) writer and illustrator based in Los Angeles, CA. His critically acclaimed graphic novel series, The Changers, began a unique career peppered with collaborative multimedia projects ranging from video games to animation to feature documentaries. Ezra’s graphic novel collaboration with Ben Passmore, entitled BTTM FDRS, was released in 2019 by Fantagraphics Books. BTTM FDRS was named one of the best books of 2019 by Chicago Public Library, New York Public Library, and Hyperallergic Magazine, and was nominated for both Eisner and Harvey awards. BTTM FDRS is currently in development as a feature film. Ezra is currently working as a screenwriter with several unannounced projects for both theatrical release and major streaming networks.
Buy Ezra Claytan Daniels’ comics here: bookshop.org/contributors/ezra-claytan-daniels-9c3db85d-0cc3-40a4-8594-966f6ac83100
BEN PASSMORE lives in Philly. His comics are about crime, monsters, anarchism, sexual dysfunction, police brutality, art theory, and his feels. Creator of DAYGLOAYHOLE and Goodbye, his comic Your Black Friend won the 2017 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Comic, as well as being nominated for an Eisner Award. His illustrations have appeared in publications such as including the New York Times, Irene, Now: The New Comics Anthology,and Believer Magazine. Ben contributes political/social editorial comics to The Nib, and his latest book is Bttm Fdrs with Ezra Claytan Daniels.
Buy Ben Passmore’s comics here: bookshop.org/books?keywords=ben+passmore
SOPHIE YANOW is an artist and writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Contradictions is her first book with Drawn & Quarterly, the webcomic of which won an Eisner Award and was nominated for the Ringo, and Harvey awards. Yanow is also the author of What is a Glacier? and War of Streets and Houses. Her comics have appeared in The New Yorker, The Guardian, Fusion, Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Nib. She has been a MacDowell Colony Fellow, and her translation of Dominique Goblet’s Pretending is Lying received the Scott Moncrieff Prize for translation from French. Yanow has taught at the Center for Cartoon Studies, the New Hampshire Institute of Art, and The Animation Workshop in Denmark.
Buy Sophie Yanow’s comics here:
bookshop.org/contributors/sophie-yanow-09cf3cf7-826a-454f-9de2-48beb564d78d
drawnandquarterly.com/contradictions
uncivilizedbooks.com/war-of-streets-and-houses
