Jean-Jacques Sempé: CHARLIE MENSUEL No. 104 September 1977

Before CHARLIE HEBDO ("Charlie Weekly"), it was CHARLIE MENSUEL ("Charlie Monthly").

Here's the front and back covers, and an interior cartoon sequence by Jean-Jacques Sempé from issue number 104, September 1977.

Sempé is one of my favorite cartoonists. Born in 1932 in Bordeaux, France, he started drawing cartoons in the 1950s and could be found in many French magazines and newspapers. He drew a schoolboy character called Nicolas and the writer René Goscinny suggested a series of stories about him. The result was serialized, and then collected in a series of Le Petit Nicolas books, which are all still in print.

Sempé is still at work, and his cartoons make the cover of The New Yorker from time to time.

This cartoon is a portrait of men and women through the decades. It works like a cartoon and reads like a lovely short story. You may want to open these scans onto a new page so you can really enjoy all of the wonderful drawing.

The back cover: