Laugh or cry

The humorist’s mantra is that tragedy plus time equals comedy. But even in the hyper-paced world of daily editorial cartooning, it may be awhile before Hurricane Katrina prompts any side-splitters.

Not that we’re completely unwilling to try. New Orleans Times-Picayune cartoonist Steve Kelley was field-testing a line about “bringing the Saints back to the Superdome to lose a couple of games — you know, to return a sense of normalcy to the place.” Pretty snappy for a guy with an evacuated job site and water moccasins slithering in his living room.

For most of us, such calamities produce somber-toned efforts. Former New Orleans cartoonist Mike Luckovich called it heartbreaking. Another, Walt Handelsman, found a way to invoke a quagmire of a different sort. And the Picayune’s Kelley gamely tried to put things in perspective.

-- Joel Pett