Cartoon #206: “The Powerful Katrina”

Hurricane Katrina made landfall Monday morning, August 29, 2005, and left unspeakable devastation in the central Gulf Coast of the U.S. In the days following the storm, things went from horrible to worse. The New Orleans levee system gave way to the flooded Lake Pontchartrain, covering most of the city. Our thoughts and prayers are with the millions of victims. The only good to come out of this event is the superhuman efforts of good-hearted folks to aid the survivors.

In that spirit, my metaphore is an historical cartoon character who exemplified both a good heart and superhuman feats. Her name, ironically, is “The Powerful Katrinka,” from Fontaine Fox’s 1930s comic “Toonerville Folks.” According to cartoon historian Herb Galewitz, in his book “Fontaine Fox’s Toonerville Folks” (Weathervaine Books, NY: 1972), Katrinka was a combination of an African-American woman employed as a cook for Fox’s father, and Ole Olson, a footall character in a George Fitch novel. Katrinka is shown in this cartoon rescuing Fox’s main character, “The Skipper.”