Tim Downs

Downs grew up in a non-religious household near Town and Country, St. Louis County, Missouri, with his parents Charles and Bobbie Downs.{{Cite news|last=McGuire|first=John M.|date=March 24, 1980|title=Artist Isn't Doodling; He's Syndicated at 25|page=3D|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93763175/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Jaffie|first=Karin|date=November 2, 1984|title=Cartoonist Confronts Stereotypes from Biblical Perspective|page=2|work=The Forum|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93785170/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} While in 7th grade at Parkway Junior High School. Downs came in first place for an oratory contest sponsored by the Des Peres Optimist Club, later coming in third place in the regional contest sponsored by the Optimist Clubs of St. Louis.{{Cite news|last=Hall|first=Marilyn|date=May 25, 1967|title=Des Peres Data|page=13|work=The Webster Advertiser|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93773000/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}

In high school, Downs began to doodle single-panel comics, influenced by Charles Schultz's Peanuts, often drawing on paper towels at the can factory where he worked as an evening janitor. Downs was unsuccessful selling his work.

Downs graduated from Parkway West High School in 1972.{{Cite news|date=March 8, 1980|title=Hagar Replacing Flash; Darling Going|page=2E|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93762468/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Archibald|first=John J.|date=February 2, 1986|title=Juliet Proves Hearty; Downstown Gone|page=2C|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93759577/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} He attended the Indiana University at Bloomington, becoming a Phi Beta Kappa and graduating in 1976 with B.A. in fine arts, with an emphasis in graphic design.{{Cite web|title=Tim Downs|url=https://www.moodypublishers.com/authors/d/tim-downs/|access-date=2022-01-29|website=www.moodypublishers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Jaffie|first=Karin|date=November 2, 1984|title=Cartoonist Confronts Stereotypes from Biblical Perspective|page=2|work=The Forum|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93785170/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} During his junior year at Indiana, Downs created a comic strip, Downstown, for the campus newspaper, Indiana Daily Student.{{Cite news|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=February 1, 1986|title='Downstown' Creator is Facing a Downtime|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93779046/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=March 28, 1980|title=Two New Comic Strips to Begin Monday|page=1|work=The Republic|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93785639/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} Downs said, "I went to college to be a sculptor and a painter. In my freshman year, I became a Christian and soon my attitude began to change toward a career in the fine arts. The problem was that sculpting and painting were intensely personal, almost like therapy, and I had things I wanted to communicate. That led me to graphic design, then comic strips…."{{Cite web|last=Moore|first=C. E.|title=Tim Downs Brings the Bug Man|url=https://www.newreleasetoday.com/article.php?article_id=169|access-date=2022-01-29|website=www.newreleasetoday.com|publisher=The Christian Manifesto}}

Downstown featured a group of friends in a college setting. The main characters were the optimist Josh who lived in an off-campus apartment, his roommate John who spent his days sleeping or watching television, their friend Fred who was a sarcastic waiter, and Chuck Laylo who was a smooth lady's man and member of the imaginary Sigma Theta fraternity.{{Cite news|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=February 1, 1986|title='Downstown' Creator is Facing a Downtime|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93779046/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=March 28, 1980|title=Two New Comic Strips to Begin Monday|page=1|work=The Republic|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93785639/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} The comic strip expanded to 30 college newspaper from 1974 through 1979, continuing after Downs' graduation.{{Cite news|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=February 1, 1986|title='Downstown' Creator is Facing a Downtime|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93779046/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Archibald|first=John J.|date=February 2, 1986|title=Juliet Proves Hearty; Downstown Gone|page=2C|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93759577/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} The editor of the Daily Illini at the University of Illinois said, "I think Downstown is the most consistently funny and insightful strip I had ever read. Ever."

The Indiana Daily Student published three Downstown collections—Downstown: This is Winning? (1977), Downstown: With Love, Chuck (1978). and Downstown: Get in There and Quit (1978).

{{Main|Downstown}}

On March 24, 1980, Downstown began syndication through Universal Press Syndicate.{{Cite news|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=February 1, 1986|title='Downstown' Creator is Facing a Downtime|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93779046/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} To appeal to a broader audience, Downs shifted his comic's content from college life to the singles life, and added new characters such as the nerd Malcolm Magnesia and changed Chuck Laylo into a shallow lounge lizard.{{Cite news|last=Archibald|first=John J.|date=February 2, 1986|title=Juliet Proves Hearty; Downstown Gone|page=2C|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93759577/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} Universal promoted it as "a comic strip that captures the humor and lifestyle of new generation."{{Cite news|last=McGuire|first=John M.|date=March 24, 1980|title=Artist Isn't Doodling; He's Syndicated at 25|page=3D|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93763175/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} The Los Angeles Times called it "one of the few new comic strips offering original and relevant humor for the '80s…" along with Bloom County and The Far Side.{{Cite news|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=October 11, 1981|title=Proof that It's the Little Absurdities that Count|page=34|work=The Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93755457/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} Through syndication, Downstown appeared in more than a hundred major newspapers worldwide, including Chicago Sun-Times, Edmonton Journal, Miami News, Los Angeles Times, and New York Post.{{Cite news|date=January 23, 1981|title=Downstown|page=4|work=Vidette-Messenger of Porter County|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93753730/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Archibald|first=John J.|date=February 2, 1986|title=Juliet Proves Hearty; Downstown Gone|page=2C|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93759577/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=March 22, 1980|title=Downstown Offers Laid-Back Humor|page=B1|work=Edmonton Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93781975/|access-date=January 29, 2022}}{{Cite news|date=July 14, 1980|title=Two Add Fun on the Daily Comics Page|page=1|work=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93782278/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}

In February 1985, Downs decided to use Downstown to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.{{Cite news|last=Volland|first=Victor|date=March 3, 1985|title=Cartoonist Tackles Famine Relief|page=13A|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93782502/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} His series of satirical comic strips depicting a starving Ethiopian child alongside overfed and insensitive Americans were considered offensive by many readers.{{Cite news|last=Volland|first=Victor|date=March 3, 1985|title=Cartoonist Tackles Famine Relief|page=13A|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93782502/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} Newspaper columnist Sue Ann Wood said, "It struck me as questionable taste indeed. The tragedy of starving children in Ethiopia hardly seemed a subject for crude humor in a comic. However, I thought the cartoonist was trying to make a point that some Americans are insensitive to the plight of Ethiopians. I didn't think he was very successful. I hoped he wouldn't try to do it again."{{Cite news|last=Wood|first=Sue Ann|date=February 24, 1985|title=Making a Point in the Comics|page=C1|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22858083/|access-date=January 29, 2022}} Yet, Downs continued to cover this topic for six days, leading The Detroit News to cancel Downstown.{{Cite news|last=Volland|first=Victor|date=March 3, 1985|title=Cartoonist Tackles Famine Relief|page=13A|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93782502/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} Downs concluded the sequence with information on how to donate to world hunger charities, and did raise money for those charities.{{Cite news|last=Volland|first=Victor|date=March 3, 1985|title=Cartoonist Tackles Famine Relief|page=13A|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93782502/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}

After 11 years and about 3,000 comic strips, Downs discontinued Downstown on February 1, 1986.{{Cite news|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=February 1, 1986|title='Downstown' Creator is Facing a Downtime|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93779046/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} Downs said, "“It’s gotten harder and harder for me to do Downstown. I finally had to ask myself if it was the kind of strip I wanted to be drawing 10 years from now, and realized that it wasn’t.”{{Cite news|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=February 1, 1986|title='Downstown' Creator is Facing a Downtime|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93779046/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} In short, Downs was living the married life with a son in San Bernardino, California, making it challenging to continue writing about characters based on his college roommate.{{Cite news|date=March 8, 1980|title=Hagar Replacing Flash; Darling Going|page=2E|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93762468/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Archibald|first=John J.|date=February 2, 1986|title=Juliet Proves Hearty; Downstown Gone|page=2C|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93759577/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} However, one newspaper editor noted, "Tim Downs decided to give it up because the strip was not being purchased by enough newspapers to make it worth continuing."{{Cite news|last=Wood|first=Sue Ann|date=January 26, 1986|title=Fans|page=D1|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93758007/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}

Downs ended Downstown with a week-long farewell party visited by characters from other comics, including Charlie Brown, Duke from Doonesbury, Cathy, Little Orphan Annie, Garfield, and Spider-Man.{{Cite news|last=Downs|first=Tim|date=January 29, 1986|title=Downstown|page=7F|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93778555/|access-date=January 28, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Wood|first=Sue Ann|date=January 26, 1986|title=Fans|page=D1|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93758007/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Downs|first=Tim|date=January 28, 1986|title=Downstown|page=7D|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93778695/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=February 1, 1986|title='Downstown' Creator is Facing a Downtime|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93779046/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} The last day, his character Josh uses an axe to break through the panel border, letting the characters fall through, with the final panel being empty white space.{{Cite news|last=Archibald|first=John J.|date=February 2, 1986|title=Juliet Proves Hearty; Downstown Gone|page=2C|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93759577/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Downs|first=Tim|date=February 1, 1986|title=Downstown|page=7D|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93778282/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} Downs says, "I feel that the Downstown characters will always be floating in the margins of the newspaper somewhere."{{Cite news|last=Archibald|first=John J.|date=February 2, 1986|title=Juliet Proves Hearty; Downstown Gone|page=2C|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93759577/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}

Downs self-published a retrospective collection of the series, The Laylo Papers: The Complete Guide to Relationships (1989).{{Cite web|date=January 19, 2022|title=Books by Tim Downs|url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/14103.Tim_Downs|access-date=2022-01-30|website=GoodReads.com}}

In 2003, Downs published Like Flies to a Corpse (later renamed Shoofly Pie), the first book in his Christian murder mystery series, Bug Man.{{Cite web|title=Downs, Tim {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/downs-tim|access-date=2022-01-29|website=www.encyclopedia.com}} The six-volume series features forensic entomologist Dr. Nick Polchak who uses the insects he finds on murder victims to solve crimes.{{Cite news|date=January 18, 2005|title=A Bug Man's Life|page=5E|work=The News and Observer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93708436/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} The series includes: Shoofly Pie (2003), Chop Shop (2004), First the Dead (2008), Less than Dead (2009), Ends of the Earth (2009), and Nick of Time (2011).{{Cite web|date=May 2012|title=Fiction Book Review: Nick of Time by Tim Downs|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59554-310-3|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=February 2, 2022|title=Bug Man|url=https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ti:bug+man+au:Downs,+Tim&qt=advanced&dblist=638|access-date=2022-02-03|website=World Cat|language=en}} To ensure scientific accuracy, Downs attended a forensic entomology seminar for crime scene investigators and coroners.{{Cite news|date=January 18, 2005|title=A Bug Man's Life|page=5E|work=The News and Observer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93708436/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}

The first two Bug Man books were published by Howard Publishing, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, with Downs changing to Thomas Nelson with the third book.{{Cite web|last=Moore|first=C. E.|title=Tim Downs Brings the Bug Man|url=https://www.newreleasetoday.com/article.php?article_id=169|access-date=2022-01-29|website=www.newreleasetoday.com|publisher=The Christian Manifesto}} Downs said, " I made the switch simply because Nelson is so much larger and can bring greater resources to the marketing of my books."{{Cite web|last=Moore|first=C. E.|title=Tim Downs Brings the Bug Man|url=https://www.newreleasetoday.com/article.php?article_id=169|access-date=2022-01-29|website=www.newreleasetoday.com|publisher=The Christian Manifesto}}

In a review for Chop Shop, Publishers Weekly wrote, "Downs keeps the pages turning with some excellent twists and first-rate humor. He laudably knows how to show rather than tell—a rarity for Christian fiction. ...Downs's flair for the unusual—makes him a writer to watch in the faith fiction market."{{Cite web|date=January 20, 2004|title=Fiction Book Review: Chop Shop: A Bug Man Novel by Tim Downs|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-58229-401-8|access-date=2022-01-29|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}}

Shoofly Pie received a Silver Angel Award, for works with moral or ethical impact, from Excellence in Media. Chop Shop received the Book of the Year Silver Award from ForeWord magazine in 2005.{{Cite news|last=Phillips|first=Fred|date=June 29, 2005|title=Howard Publishing, Downs' Novel Awarded|page=4D|work=The News-Star|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93708159/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=April 29, 2004|title=Christian Author Awarded|page=84|work=The News and Observer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93708595/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} First the Dead was given a starred review from Publishers Weekly for its "taut writing and well-developed characters."{{Cite web|date=January 2008|title=Fiction Book Review: First the Dead by Tim Downs|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59554-024-9|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}}

Downs also wrote three stand-alone novels, all published by Thomas Nelson: Plague Maker (2006), Head Game (2007), and Wonders Never Cease (2010).{{Cite web|date=May 2010|title=Fiction Book Review: Wonders Never Cease by Tim Downs|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59554-309-7|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=January 9, 2009|title=Fiction Book Review: Head Game by Tim Downs|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59554-023-2|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}} Plague Maker received a Christy Award for best suspense book in 2007.{{Cite web|date=June 19, 2010|title=Wonders Never Cease is the Perfect Summer Read and Book Club Selection for 2010|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/tim-downs/wonders-never-cease/prweb4163984.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100622064518/http://www.prweb.com/releases/tim-downs/wonders-never-cease/prweb4163984.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 22, 2010|access-date=January 29, 2022|website=Cision}} Although Plague Maker is not part of the Bug Man series, it does include a cameo by Dr. Nick Polchak.{{Cite web|last=Moore|first=C. E.|title=Tim Downs Brings the Bug Man|url=https://www.newreleasetoday.com/article.php?article_id=169|access-date=2022-01-29|website=www.newreleasetoday.com|publisher=The Christian Manifesto}} One reviewer noted, "Downs knows his bugs and his techno stuff, but what makes this work so well is the appeal of the characters...."{{Cite web|date=October 15, 2005|title=Plague Maker|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tim-downs/plaguemaker/|access-date=January 29, 2022|website=Kirkus Reviews}} Publishers Weekly said, "This is Downs's best book to date."{{Cite web|date=January 10, 2006|title=Fiction Book Review: Plaguemaker by Tim Downs, Author|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59554-022-5|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}}

Downs also collaborated with Ted Dekker and Davis Bunn for The Christian Fiction Collection for Men (2003), also published by Thomas Nelson.{{Cite web|date=January 19, 2022|title=Books by Tim Downs|url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/14103.Tim_Downs|access-date=2022-01-30|website=GoodReads.com}}

With Vinh Chung, Downs wrote Where the Wind Leads: A Refugee Family's Miraculous Story of Loss, Rescue, and Redemption (2014), published by Thomas Nelson. This book covers Chung's experience in communist-ruled Vietnam, his family's daring escape as boat people, and assimilation as a refugee in Arkansas, U.S.{{Cite web|date=March 1, 2014|title=Where the Wind Leads|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/author/tim-downs/|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Kirkus Reviews|language=en}} Although aimed at the Christian market, reviewers indicated that this book could have a broader reach.

Downs has written nonfiction books on Christian relationships and communication, all published by Moody Press.{{Cite web|date=January 19, 2022|title=Books by Tim Downs|url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/14103.Tim_Downs|access-date=2022-01-30|website=GoodReads.com}}{{Cite web|date=August 2003|title=Religion Book Review: Fight Fair! Winning at Conflict Without Losing at Love|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/0-8024-1424-9|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}} Finding Common Ground: How to Communicate with those Outside the Christian Community (1999) received the Gold Medallion Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association in 2000.{{Cite news|date=April 29, 2004|title=Christian Author Awarded|page=84|work=The News and Observer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93708595/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} Co-written with his wife Joy, Down's other nonfiction titles include Fight Fair: Winning at Conflict without Losing at Love (2003), The Seven Conflicts: Resolving the Most Common Disagreements in Marriage (2003), and One of Us Must Be Crazy...and I'm Pretty Sure It's You: Making Sense of the Difference that Divide Us (2010).{{Cite web|date=February 2, 2022|title=Tim Downs|url=https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Downs%2C+Tim&qt=results_page|access-date=February 2, 2022|website=World Cat}}

Downs lives in Cary, North Carolina, with his wife, and has three adult children.{{Cite web|title=Downs, Tim {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/downs-tim|access-date=2022-01-29|website=www.encyclopedia.com}} He is the founder of the Communication Center, a training and consulting ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ which he has worked for since 1979.{{Cite web|title=Downs, Tim {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/downs-tim|access-date=2022-01-29|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}{{Cite news|last=Jaffie|first=Karin|date=November 2, 1984|title=Cartoonist Confronts Stereotypes from Biblical Perspective|page=2|work=The Forum|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93785170/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}} In addition to lecturing on college campuses, he and his wife present A Weekend to Remember, a marriage and parenting conference held across the United States.{{Cite news|last=Jaffie|first=Karin|date=November 2, 1984|title=Cartoonist Confronts Stereotypes from Biblical Perspective|page=2|work=The Forum|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93785170/|access-date=January 29, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Downs, Tim}}

Category:American comics artists

Category:1954 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Cary, North Carolina

Category:American male novelists

Category:20th-century American novelists

Category:20th-century American male writers

Category:American mystery novelists

Category:People from St. Louis County, Missouri

Category:Indiana University Bloomington alumni

Category:American Christian writers