King-Ganteaume

[Bigwords]

So far, none of the lists of ex-servicemen, nor any of the usual places I get information from, have anything truly helpful to say about the person (or people?) behind King-Ganteaume, and it is starting to bug me. I don't 100% trust some of the information which *has* been picked at over the years - the ex-servicemen angle should have pointed in the direction of at least a couple of individuals, but there seems to be nothing which points specifically to a name.

Has anyone ever happened across any paperwork from K-G, or specific reference to anyone working for the company?

[philcom55]

It's a shame Joe Colquhoun isn't still around as he supposedly drew some of his earliest comic work for them on Scion titles like this issue of 'High Seas Colour Comic' I picked up a couple of years ago (love that cover dialogue!):



- Phil R.

[Bigwords]

There are about a dozen artists whose names are linked with the company (not all of them in the same league as Colquhoun), though pinning down anything about the company itself is proving to be massively frustrating. Even knowing which branch of the military the founder is meant to have been in would go some way to getting me nearer to identifying the main people in the company...

The complete and total lack of anything tangible to follow up is enough to make me think that this may lead to something interesting.

[philcom55]

Maybe Gerry Embleton knows something about his brother's dealings with them? (though I've heard that he doesn't exactly welcome requests for information like this)

- Phil R.

[Bigwords]

(though I've heard that he doesn't exactly welcome requests for information like this)

I try to keep to:

Rule #1 - Don't P**s people off.

Not that I have entirely succeeded in that, but needlessly antagonizing someone who may well react badly to a request for information definitely steps over the self-imposed line. I'd rather not upset anyone where I can help it.

There are still thousands of pages of war records I haven't gone over (most of them unordered), and I'm sure that there are company records stored *somewhere* still extant.

[philcom55]

Rule #1 - Don't P**s people off.

...Not a bad philosophy I must admit!

[bigpete]

I was always led to believe that King and Ganteaume were ex Canadian Soldiers with Ganteaume being French Canadian? Obviously they didn't only produce for the their own comics as they did a ton of stuff in other comics especially for Miller. Much of their own stuff was produced by French artists and some of it was even printed in France. Would have thought that phone records may give you a bit more information about where they lived, had their business and although I sincerely doubt they were ever registered with Companies House you never know. They disappeared in the 60's along with most of their contemporary's, but who knows maybe they stayed in the UK because they married English girls??