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. During his junior year at Indiana, Downs created a comic strip, Downstown, for the campus newspaper, Indiana Daily Student.
He attended Indiana University at Bloomington, becoming a Phi Beta Kappa scholar and graduating in 1976 with a B.A. in fine arts, with an emphasis on graphic design. During his junior year at Indiana, Downs produced a comic strip called Downstown for the campus newspaper, Indiana Daily Student.