Cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé still entertains an international audience

One of my favorite cartoonists is Jean-Jacques Sempé, a French-born cartoonist who has a knack for making people laugh without words. In my opinion, Sempé is one of the best visual humorists of the last century - and possibly this one too.

Sempé was born in 1932. As a student, he exhibited little talent for academic studies.
He was expelled from school and, as a young man, failed to pass exams for a variety of jobs including
postal worker, bank worker, and railroad employee. Eventually he did find work as a door-to-door tooth powder salesperson. In 1950, he lied about his age and joined the French army. As you might imagine, Sempé
often got into trouble because he would spend his time on guard duty drawing simple cartoons.

By 1952, Sempé started painting simple watercolors with characters that did not speak but somehow conveyed a story. His little drawings slowly became internationally popular and his cartoons would soon find
a home in The New Yorker, Paris Match and many other popular literary publications. You can view his wonderful gentle humor on many websites. Sempé is still alive and continues to
produce cartoons that can make you smile.