"Brown’s trademark crisp, simplified cartooning style is a great fit, and he masterfully balances the joy readers may find in nostalgia with the discomfort of the psychology of marketing."—Booklist, starred review
"Brown returns with another clever, sharp, and well-researched graphic novel that explores a pop culture non-fiction topic in close detail."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
"A unique book that fans of toys, collectibles, psychology, marketing, child development, and government oversight will enjoy." —School Library Journal
"[Brown's] book will...fascinate readers wanting to understand the curious pull that a small, plastic, blond, outer-space barbarian still has on their emotions."—The Star Tribune
“No matter the focus[…]Brown can be counted on to unspool eye-opening, entertaining books that often feel like documentary films.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
"This accessible examination of the wars waged on after-school television and in the toy aisle should interest any reader attuned to the cultural critiques of Naomi Klein and Adam Curtis, as well as those who catch themselves humming the ThunderCats theme."—Publishers Weekly
"Brian 'Box' Brown tells a personal story of nerdy obsession and creates something universal and poignant. But, I wish I didn't have to take the book out of the wrapper. I like my collectibles to be pristine." —Patton Oswalt
“In The He-Man Effect, Brian "Box" Brown elegantly and empathetically demolishes nearly all of a modern reader’s illusions about their own childhood. It’s a stunning work of graphic nonfiction—never didactic but endlessly informative. The artwork is, as per usual for Brown, compelling in its uniqueness and simplicity. A must-read mythbuster.”
—Abraham Josephine Riesman, author of True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee and Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America
"Here is an expert unafraid critically to face the social impacts of the industry he knows from the inside. This graphic novel is brilliantly suited to expose and analyze how mass media products—children's toys, films, TV shows, social media events, etc.—serve the profit drives of capitalists and the efforts of governments to support those drives."
—Prof. Richard D. Wolff, Founder of Democracy at Work and author of Understanding Marxism and Understanding Socialism
"Nonfiction comics at its finest. Well-researched, perfectly paced, clean lines, and fun drawings. A+." —Austin Kleon, bestselling author of Steal Like An Artist
"Excellently presented. A wonderfully clear and concise timeline." —Dan Larson, Secret Galaxy TV
2023-04-20
An entertaining and fact-filled explanation of how toy manufacturers have used psychology and state-of-the-art advertising techniques in children's programming in order to maximize their profits.
In his latest, Brown, author of Tetris, André the Giant, and other well-received works of graphic nonfiction, methodically builds his case that the same strategies developed for wartime propaganda and corporate takeover purposes are deployed in stealth advertising aimed at children. With simple but clever and appealing drawings, he illustrates how Disney and other corporate behemoths have become adept at tying emotional experiences and nostalgia to their media properties. We see just how closely Americans emulate what they see on TV, the sly "salesman in every living room." Toymakers often exploit the fact that children cannot differentiate TV programs from their commercials, and they sponsor Saturday morning cartoons indistinguishable from their playtime products. Brown capably draws the history of breakthrough toys created by the industry's major players: Hasbro, whose G.I. Joe, "basically a boy's Barbie," pioneered the idea of action figures; Marvel, whose comic books were fundamentally commercials to sell their toys; and Mattel, whose bodybuilding He-Man "made Star Wars and G.I Joe figures look like wimpy pencil-neck geeks." The author continues his exploration of "advertising content disguised as programming" through the eras of syndicated animation, cable TV, video games, and numerous new entries in the Star Wars franchise. Throughout the book, Brown emphasizes that children's imaginative play is crucially important in order to learn cooperation, problem-solving, and the nuances of language. He shows how children's media have colonized this crucial area of cognitive development through his depictions of cartoon icons such as Mickey Mouse, idealized masculine role models such as He-Man, and other potent examples of what the New York Times called a "fusion of commerce and childhood imagination." Both Brown's well-studied subject and his playful graphic art are truly "Toyetic!"
A boffo cartoon history of the deliberate manipulation of children's minds.
