About Prescrire

Meet Gaspard Bonhomme

Gaspard Bonhomme has been Prescrire’s cartoon mascot and alter ego since the journal was founded in the early 1980s.

Gaspard Bonhomme
The pie-faced Gaspard has been Prescrire’s poster-child since the magazine’s earliest days. Gaspard’s pen-and-ink portrait graces the Prescrire logo, and he is never far when Prescrire’s editors have something important to say.

Gaspard’s 17th century headgear may resemble the style Americans associate with their "Pilgrim" forebears, but to the French it suggests a member of the medical profession – think Molière’s "Malade imaginaire".

Gaspard’s last name means "good fellow". His childlike countenance expresses honesty and open-mindedness. But at the same time he is thorough and determined. Gaspard is steadfastly immune to fame, fortune and the vagaries of fashion. He represents the Prescrire editor’s impartial yet relentless quest for the truth about medicines and treatment options. He is often to be seen in the pose of a plucky and persistent investigator.

And Gaspard, like Prescrire, is never afraid to express his frank opinion, no matter how much certain people might not like it.

In Gaspard, Prescrire subscribers have found a face they know they can trust.