With his latest book The He-Man Effect: How American Toymakers Sold You Your Childhood, documentary graphic novelist Brian 'Box' Brown tells a story about how corporations essentially brainwashed an entire generation of children to trade their imaginations for hunks of plastic. He joins Downlow.d host Joe Scott to talk about how this happened as well as what it's like being a non-fiction storyteller in a world that is more than ready to mine his ideas and storybeats for movie projects like the Apple Plus film Tetris. Lastly, they discuss the meaning of the #comicsbrokeme hashtag and how it reflects the current state of comics professionals in the United States. Places where you can buy The He-Man Effect: A local comic book store A local book retailer Or 'that place' if you absolutely have no other choices. Plus Joe Scott shares updates about the future of Downlow.d as well as what's going on with some of the people he met as part of The Rise and Fall of Harry Knowles & Ain't It Cool News. BONUS LINKS: Brian Box Brown's Homepage Joe Scott's interview with Barbara Genova for Runaway Drew McWeeny's Substack Drew McWeeny's Other Substack Drew McWeeny's Podcast (Patreon) Joe Scott on BlueSky --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downlowdpod/support