West Side Rag
  • TOP NEWS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT
West Side Rag
No Result
View All Result
SUPPORT THE RAG

Search the site

No Result
View All Result
Get WSR FREE in your inbox
SUPPORT THE RAG

Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder

July 7, 2024 | 5:48 AM
in ART, COLUMNS
48
Illustration by Gary B. Martin.

By Carol Tannenhauser

Martoonerville is not immune to personal and collective struggles. “[I’m] submitting this image for what has been a very hard week and it’s only the beginning,” Gary Martin wrote, along with this week’s illustration. “Mostly it’s about the news from last week, the Supreme Court et al.”

Gary B. Martin is an illustrator and animator who has lived on the Upper West Side for over 30 years. His illustrations appear in the Rag on Sundays, chronicling life in the neighborhood and New York City.

Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here, and help sustain the Rag by clicking on the purple support button below.

Share this article:
SUPPORT THE RAG
guest

guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

48 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Steve
Steve
10 months ago

As usual, Gary channels our feelings. A picture and a caption capture thousands of words!

11
Reply
Birdie
Birdie
10 months ago

Ooph! Gut punch! Watching last week’s news — Biden/Trump, Chevron decision, climate (change? what change?)– all while celebrating our nation’s independence, leaves enough residual angst to anticipate another coming week of exhaustion. Spot on Martoons!

7
Reply
Barbara E. Morgan
Barbara E. Morgan
10 months ago
Reply to  Birdie

I wake up Every Single Day thinking “What fresh hell will we have to deal with today?” Meanwhile, we are almost literally Living in hell!

0
Reply
Sharon
Sharon
10 months ago

You nailed that on the head. Another great comic

5
Reply
Ben Harris
Ben Harris
10 months ago

What happens if you combine PTSD with PreTSD?

3
Reply
Barbara E. Morgan
Barbara E. Morgan
10 months ago
Reply to  Ben Harris

Just plain T.

0
Reply
Birdie
Birdie
10 months ago
Reply to  Ben Harris

ha.

1
Reply
Laurie K
Laurie K
10 months ago

I seriously almost just shot coffee out of my nose on this one! Way to wake me up and have me start my day with a laugh and cry. Now I have to wait another week though!!!!!

3
Reply
Joanna
Joanna
10 months ago

Oh Wow. This hits it right on the nose. Agree with Steve about channeling our feelings.

4
Reply
Neal Leibowitz
Neal Leibowitz
10 months ago

Smart, funny and (sadly) extremely accurate. If our cartoons can’t cope, what hope is there for the rest of us?

8
Reply
gmartin
gmartin
10 months ago
Reply to  Neal Leibowitz

thank you for understanding. it’s gotten weird out here.

2
Reply
Taggart
Taggart
10 months ago

I wish I didn’t love this so much! Spot on.

3
Reply
Miriam
Miriam
10 months ago

You’re not kidding! I think I’ll skip next week…

8
Reply
Edward Soloway
Edward Soloway
10 months ago

I like the futuristic background and palette, reminiscent of The Jetsons and that suggestive cartoon era of easy times.

4
Reply
Birdie
Birdie
10 months ago
Reply to  Edward Soloway

I think you make a great point about this cartoon capturing both the future and the past. Echoing what he said about ” grammar gods excus[ing] my use of the present perfect continuous tense to describe what’s coming.”

1
Reply
gmartin
gmartin
10 months ago
Reply to  Edward Soloway

thank you sir. i was worried about the orange color.

2
Reply
David
David
10 months ago

Ouch!!!

4
Reply
Mad Smith
Mad Smith
10 months ago

So relatable!

3
Reply
Adrienne
Adrienne
10 months ago

I feel seen!

4
Reply
Rebecca
Rebecca
10 months ago

Is it Friday yet?!

3
Reply
Ellen White
Ellen White
10 months ago

Love this cartoon and the recurring character! Keep ‘em coming Gary Martin! ❤️❤️❤️

3
Reply
Julian C. Lander
Julian C. Lander
10 months ago

Surely the future perfect would have worked: “Next week will have been so exhausting.”

3
Reply
Kathy
Kathy
10 months ago

Seeing Gary’s weekly Martoon takes me back to the days when I looked forward to comics in the Sunday paper. Smile of the week!

3
Reply
David
David
10 months ago

Alas, so true. But, at least, very funny.

4
Reply
Don
Don
10 months ago

Hilarious and SO true!!!

3
Reply
APC
APC
10 months ago

The Sunday Scaries are very real this week.

3
Reply
Anne Watkins
Anne Watkins
10 months ago

Love the cartoon, the feeling, the phrase and the headline. Brilliant. Next up: Martoonerville’s Dictionary

3
Reply
Agnes Frank
Agnes Frank
10 months ago

Even without mentioning the French elections.

3
Reply
LJR
LJR
10 months ago

Ha!!! Isn’t this so true of so many of us! Does this relatable character have a name? (Not that he needs one.) He’s becoming an icon of the UWS.

2
Reply
Neal Leibowitz
Neal Leibowitz
10 months ago
Reply to  LJR

He’s a portrait of the artist.

1
Reply
Alex
Alex
10 months ago

So sadly accurate, but at least Martoonerville speaks the truth with humor.

3
Reply
Mark
Mark
10 months ago

Ugh. I *so* feel this. Unfortunately, we have a lot of next weeks ahead of us. But thanks for giving us a humorous way to think about them, Gary.

5
Reply
Andrea R
Andrea R
10 months ago

Boy, can I relate! The madness of it all is overwhelming with no end in sight…yet. Stay positive! Great job, Gary.

2
Reply
Deb M
Deb M
10 months ago

Laugh-out-loud funny! Spot on!

2
Reply
OPOD
OPOD
10 months ago

There are 2 types of Democrats, ones who knew Biden had severe cognitive problems, or ones who don’t pay attention. The media coverup of Biden is criminal, and put the whole world in danger.

2
Reply
Howie Cherpakov
Howie Cherpakov
10 months ago

Never mind next week; what about the week after that?!! 🙂

1
Reply
Cork
Cork
10 months ago

Thank god next week’s cartoon has been so entertaining as well.

1
Reply
Lisa
Lisa
10 months ago

I know the feeling

1
Reply
Deborah
Deborah
10 months ago

This is fantastic!

2
Reply
Stacey
Stacey
10 months ago

Gary nailed it again. Brilliant.

2
Reply
Ron
Ron
10 months ago

Exactly! Martoons hits it right on the head. (And it’s only gonna get worse!) I see a t-shirt in your future.

2
Reply
Barbara
Barbara
10 months ago

Another great creative Martoon.

1
Reply
Meg Roberts
Meg Roberts
10 months ago

This entire run up to the elections is causing me pre-traumatic stress! And it is combined with post traumatic stress disorder also! Thank you Gary – you continue to keep us at least smiling occasionally!

4
Reply
Betty Samuels
Betty Samuels
10 months ago

How about the next four months?

1
Reply
Joe Chiplock
Joe Chiplock
10 months ago

Writing this comment on Monday….Gary’s correct.

1
Reply
Melissa
Melissa
10 months ago

So funny and at the same time… so sad. You capture it perfectly Gary!

1
Reply
Nelson
Nelson
10 months ago

So true! And it looks like it will feel this way right up until elections in November!
Great work Mr Martoons 😂🤣

1
Reply
Mia T
Mia T
10 months ago

My thoughts exactly! Well put Martoons!

0
Reply

YOU MIGHT LIKE...

Here’s the UWS Dish: Mille-Feuille Bakery’s Vanilla Mille-Feuille
COLUMNS

Here’s the UWS Dish: Mille-Feuille Bakery’s Vanilla Mille-Feuille

May 12, 2025 | 8:23 AM
Happy Mother’s Day Upper West Side
ART

Happy Mother’s Day Upper West Side

May 11, 2025 | 8:23 AM
Previous Post

Upper West Sider Theodore Dixon, 98, Inducted Into New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame

Next Post

Argument Leads to Slashing in Central Park: Police

this week's events image
Next Post
Updated: Two Suspects Arrested in Three Riverside Park Sexual Assaults:  NYPD

Argument Leads to Slashing in Central Park: Police

Monday Bulletin: UWS Affordable Housing Lottery Opens; Local Eatery Named Among NYC’s Best Sushi Spots; Nadler Calls on Biden to Abandon his Election Bid; Neighborhood’s Tallest Building Makes Headlines Again; Shocking Bagel Crime

Monday Bulletin: UWS Affordable Housing Lottery Opens; Local Eatery Named Among NYC's Best Sushi Spots; Nadler Calls on Biden to Abandon his Election Bid; Neighborhood's Tallest Building Makes Headlines Again; Shocking Bagel Crime

Volunteer & Connect with an Older Neighbor this Thanksgiving

Give a Little Time, Make a Big Impact!

  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • NEWSLETTER
  • WSR MERCH!
  • ADVERTISE
  • EVENTS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • SITE MAP
Site design by RLDGROUP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • TOP NEWS
  • THIS WEEK’S EVENTS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT US
  • WSR SHOP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.