It’s Not Funny

Sometimes the news begs to be lampooned in cartoon. Not this week. J.D. Crowe’s stark, almost shocking, image of a hulking puppet master looming over the pathetic form of Terri Schiavo perfectly captured the feeding-tube frenzy that was this week’s Topic A. That he dared to actually render the sad but familiar face of the woman at the center of this undignified spectacle made it all the more compelling.

If there’s a grimmer subject to draw on than the “persistent legislative state” of the Schiavo case, it’s surely a school shooting. At least you can take sides in the former. Dana Summers’ simple and poignant combination of imagery makes his point. Chan Lowe peeled the happy face off Uncle Sam’s new make-nice Middle East policy, and Walt Handelsman drilled the Arctic energy legislation, providing sorely needed comic relief.