Born April 10, 1957 in the town of Santa Rosa California to James and Edna Hudnall. Santa Rosa is 50 miles north of San Francisco in Sonoma County, famed for its wines. When James was two his parents divorced and he went with his mom to San Diego. There she married Charles Reynolds, a chief in the US Navy and had another son and two daughters. While in San Diego, James saw his first comic which was a Mad magazine. An avoid reader, James went through every childrens book he could find. He was especially fond of Dr. Seuss and Curious George at the time.

In the early 1960s the family moved to the island of Oahu, Hawaii where they lived for three years. It was there that James was first exposed to Japanese anime in the form of Astro Boy and Kimba. He also made a couple Japanese friends and saw his first Manga. Young James had no idea that this would have an impact on him years later.

While in Hawaii, he was also exposed to a lot of Asian culture and developed a liking for the art. He also had adventures playing in old WWII bunkers near his house and had a lot of fun imagining situations. This would later set him on the path to becoming a writer. One book that would have an immense influence on him was D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths. He loved the book so much his mom had to buy it from the school library . James still has it.

He was 7 years old at the time and memorized every story about the Greek Gods and heroes. This fascination with heroic mythology led to his interest in comic books and an eventual career. But before that happened, James went to 13 different schools eventually graduating from Point Loma High School in San Diego, California.

After high school James joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at RAF Bentwaters, England. After the Air Force he went to Coleman College in San Diego and majored in Computer Science. After graduation he became a software consultant in Orange County, California.

When James got out of high school he had become disenchanted by comic books. But when he was working in Orange County, on the way home from work one day he spotted a Jack Kirby comic in the racks at the 7/11. Captain Victory. It didn't look that interesting, but it made James feel nostalgic for Kirby's work. He had sold his collection years ago.