He came into the world blue and not breathing. Saved only by his family doctor who shoved his still body under hot and cold water taps alternatively, Gahan Wilson survived to become one of the most influential cartoonists to date. Though his cartoons, which were published in both Playboy and The New Yorker for years, are some of the most recognisable the artist was less well-known.

That is until now. His stories of life growing up as a son of creative alcoholics provide the narration of the film and enlightenment to the themes behind his comics.

As each story puts another chapter in the Wilson book, it is illustrated by the genius artist himself. The director Steven-Charles Jaffe creates a great juxtaposition of minor details in Wilson's stories with whole images the man has created.

From a fishing trip Wilson went on with his parents where he lost his straw hat to the captain who taught him how to gut a fish to a throwaway comment about licking plates, the film is kept together by the amusing images created by Wilson of these events.

And it's his ability to take childhood images and ethical dilemmas and bring them into a whole new context that has created the man's cult following.

His creative process is also documented in this film, from the imagining of a humorous take on a mundane object to the drawing process. Clearly cartoonists are far more than doodlers and there is one after another who ensure we understand the arduous task of creating whole, humorous stories in one image.

Through interviews with more than a dozen of his peers, including Stan Lee, Hugh Hefner, Stephen Colbert and David Remnick, Jaffe stencils a picture of Wilson's influence. Perhaps nothing is more touching then the Vietnam vet who is near tears when he remembers being alone in the war. Stumbling on a Playboy, the magazine opens to Wilson's iconic image of a lone soldier surrounded by a devastated landscape and the tagline says: 'I think I've won.'

That's not to say all the cuts to interviews and Wilson's images hold the film throughout it's hour and 40 minutes running time. It drags. An hour would probably have been adequate for audiences, all of whom may not be stencilling in their spare hours. There are moments of interest like when we are given a glimpse of the humiliating experience of submitting cartoons for publication to The New Yorker.

It's cringeworthy for the first couple who are told they should go back to the drawing board and then it just gets tedious.

An interesting film it may have kept my attention had I been more interested in cartoons, however for the budding artist or even the more established the entire hour and forty minutes will surely keep you enthralled. For the rest of us, it's worth a watch, but make sure you bring enough popcorn to get through the hour hump.

** Gahan Wilson: Not Dead, Still Weird will be screened tonight at 9.15 p.m. at Little Theatre and again on Saturday at 6.30 p.m. at BUEI auditorium.