Del Walker turns back the clock to take a look at a lost name in the history of animation over at DVD Toons, Charley Bowers – The Story Of An American Comic Genius. Bowers’ life is pretty sketchy, though this extensive article reveals all there is to know about this early stop-motion animator and live-action comedy director, primarily remembered by some today for the cartoon series based on the Mutt And Jeff and The Katzenjammer Kids newspaper comic strips. A companion to the piece is Del’s new review of Image Entertainment’s The Rediscovery Of An American Comic Genius, a 2-disc anthology of Charley Bowers animated and live-action work, which Del describes as “not only a rediscovery at a forgotten comedian, but also a look at one of the most smoothly executed methods of stop-motion film animation ever devised. Intriguing, and at their best, jaw droppingly astonishing”.

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