Brian “Box” Brown is an award-winning cartoonist, illustrator, and writer. In this edition of The Friday Five, we talk to Brian about his latest book, The He-Man Effect: How American Toymakers Sold You Your Childhood, and discuss how the Reagan administration played a pivotal role in how toys are marketed to today’s consumers.
Gene Miguel is CEO and co-founder of Shortboxed, a marketplace designed specifically for sellers and buyers of comic books. In this edition of The Friday Five, Gene shares the company’s origin story and explains how they are circumventing some of the risks inherent in comic book collecting.
Andrew Burtch is a historian and curator at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. In this edition of The Friday Five, Andrew talks about War Games, an exhibit that reveals the connections between war, games, military, and civilians in the ever-changing landscape of politics.
Dani Bunda collects Tamagotchi. In this edition of Collector Spotlight, Dani shares her thoughts on the impact Tamagotchi can have on mental health and why real-life pets don’t always make good housemates for digital pets.
Dr. Donal Carlston is the inventor of the Personal Preference board game. In this edition of The Friday Five, Donal explains how his work in social psychology inspired the game and reveals the role fan demand played in updating the game for new generations.
Brian Hickey is a collaborator on the upcoming retrospective, My Palitoy Story: The History of a Famous British Toy Company written by Bob Brechin. In this edition of The Friday Five, Brian talks about how toy collecting led him to meet Brechin and divulges the franchise that untimely contributed to the demise of Palitoy.
Bruce A. deArmond collects Madame Alexander dolls. In this edition of Collector Spotlight, Bruce discloses the advice his mother gave him that serves as the philosophical foundation of his collection and explains why his collection rarely sees the light of day.
Graham E. Hancock is the author of LEGO Heroes: LEGO Builders Changing Our World—One Brick at a Time. In this edition of The Friday Five, Graham explains how the classic building toy connects people beyond play and shares how LEGO is being used to enhance lives.
Tyler Ham is creative director at Paragon FX Group. In this edition of The Friday Five, Tyler talks about the business of designing prop replicas based on popular media properties and reveals what collectors can look forward to seeing from the company as the year unfolds.
Cory Woodrow collects cribbage boards. In this edition of Collector Spotlight, Cory talks about the generational influences in his collection and divulges how his approach to collecting evolved over the years.