Bruce Walter Timm is an American character designer, animator and producer. He is also a writer and artist working in comics, and is known for his contributions building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, the DC animated universe. Timm's minimalist, angular style is heavily based in his love of 1950s and 1960s-era comics and art deco architecture style. He is also completely self-taught, having never received any formal art schooling. He lists his artistic influences as Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman, Jim Steranko, John Buscema, Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta, Dan DeCarlo, and Alex Toth.