Bernadette Després, the artist behind ‘Tom-Tom and Nana’, dies aged 83

Cartoonist Bernadette Després, co-creator of the adventures of Tom-Tom and Nana, has died aged 83, the Bayard group announced on Wednesday 20 November. For more than three decades, she brought to life this cult series that marked several generations.

A series with unrivalled success

Tom-Tom and Nana follows the daily lives of two children, brother and sister, in a lively family restaurant, *A la Bonne Fourchette*. Created in 1977 for the magazine *J’aime lire*, this comic strip, co-written with Jacqueline Cohen, has been a huge success. With 34 albums published and 16 million copies sold, it became a benchmark for young readers before coming to an end in 2009.

‘Humour saves everything’

At an exhibition in her honour at the Angoulême Festival in 2019, Bernadette Després spoke simply about the impact of her work:

‘We never thought it would be such a success. Even Bayard didn’t imagine it.’

She stressed the importance of humour in life and in her creations, saying that Tom-Tom and Nana would never grow old, and that they would remain a way of sharing light, funny moments with the family.

An artist with a unique style

Born in Paris in 1941, Bernadette Després trained as a draughtswoman before publishing her first works in the 1960s. Her works, marked by a refined, expressive style, reflected scenes from everyday life, accessible to the whole family. Her collaboration with Jacqueline Cohen and Evelyne Reberg on Tom-Tom et Nana marked a turning point in her career, but she also wrote other children’s books, particularly in the early years of her artistic life.

Inspiration from real life

The famous restaurant *À la Bonne Fourchette* was inspired by an establishment near Pithiviers, in the Loiret region, where Bernadette Després lived. These references to real life gave her stories an authenticity that contributed to their success.

A precious legacy

Until her final years, Bernadette Després shared her passion with visitors to her home, which was partly dedicated to Tom-Tom and Nana. Her death leaves a void in the world of children’s comics, but her work continues to make young and old laugh and dream.