'[2] Root was born in Heidelberg, Germany, on a United States Army military base.
[3] Joining the United States Marines, Root worked in supply, achieving the rank of corporal.
[4] Nonetheless, that first taste of getting published proved irresistible to Root and he was hooked on comics.
Pooling money with his wife Leslie, he formed Basement Comics and self-published the first issue of Cavewoman in 1993.
Root's one-shot Cavewoman: Jungle Tales, was nominated for a 1999 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Story.