Tragedy Isn't Fodder For Humor

On Daryl Cagle’s Professional Cartoon Index, there are several pages of editorial cartoons honoring the miners who tragically died in the Jan. 2, 2005 mine explosion. Most are done with respect but there are several that I find kind of tasteless. I can ignore the standard “entering Heaven” clichés but I don’t think there should be any humor involved. I really hate the one by Bob Gorrell. It is the second to last on this page. The drawing is great. he subject is awful. It depicts Death pushing a coal cart full of skulls. I would hate to be a family member of one of those miners and come across that one. I can’t imagine what Gorrell must have been thinking. There are a couple of others there as well that, while not making light of the event, don’t really seem to take it very seriously.
Of course, I am not privileged and worthy enough to be represented on Cagle’s site so, above you can find my drawing for the People’s Weekly World Jan. 14, 2005 edition.