As a young boy he liked cartoonists such as Ernie Bushmiller, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, Graham Ingels and Mad Magazine (particularly the work of Jack Davis, Will Elder and Wallace Wood). Interviewed by Gary Groth for The Comics Journal (issue #164, December 1993), Woodring said that the 'Betty Boop' cartoon 'Bimbo's Initiation' (1933) was 'one of the things that laid the foundation for my life's philosophy'.

From a young age he enjoyed animated cartoons by Walt Disney, Tex Avery and especially the Fleischer Brothers, whose surrealism had a strong impact on his own graphic and narrative style. James William Woodring was born in 1952 in Los Angeles, as son of a toxicologist and inventor. His work remains highly original and unusual. Woodring proved that personal dreams and subconscious experiences could translate in interesting and captivating comics. The lack of dialogue gives it a hypnotic quality, which mezmerizes readers until the final page. Symbolism and Hindu philosophy colour his imagery. He mostly draws pantomime comics set in surreal, nightmarish environments, inspired by his own recurring hallucinations since childhood.

His work has a strange, otherwordly, unpredictable atmosphere. He works in a 'fine art' style, influenced by old European masters and surrealist painters, while simultaneously drawing cartoony characters. Jim Woodring is an American comic artist, best known for his long-running cult series 'Frank' (1990).

Frank comic jim woodring