By Gary Martin
Gary B. Martin is an illustrator and animator who has lived on the Upper West Side for more than 30 years. His illustrations appear in the Rag on Sundays, chronicling life in the neighborhood, New York City, and the Universe. See them all here. For a broader range of Gary’s work, including animations and other motion graphics, please visit www.martoons.com
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
Please limit comments to 150 words and keep them civil and relevant to the article at hand. Comments are closed after six days. Our primary goal is to create a safe and respectful space where a broad spectrum of voices can be heard. We welcome diverse viewpoints and encourage readers to engage critically with one another’s ideas, but never at the expense of civility. Disagreement is expected—even encouraged—but it must be expressed with care and consideration. Comments that take cheap shots, escalate conflict, or veer into ideological warfare detract from the constructive spirit we aim to cultivate. A detailed statement on comments and WSR policy can be read here.
Rings true. Just sayin’!
🤣🤣 Only a woman can truly understand
I can relate.
Ha!!! So true!!!!! Thanks for the first smile of the day!!!
Mr Martin’s ~ Is it age that is affecting my sleep or is it the age we live in?!?
Always fun to have your cynical insight!! Keep it coming!
It’s ironic that this immediately follows a story about the Upper West Side being one of the happiest places in the country. Several times a week I hear a siren outside between 2 and 4 AM and am unable to fall asleep again. But the UWS is still a great place to live and I am very happy here.
Great cartoon too!
I agree. There is not a night that goes by, that I don’t hear a siren after getting in bed. However, since my husband may have been in one of those ambulances when he had his heart attack in 2021, instead of lamenting about not getting back to sleep, I say a small prayer that whomever is in the back of that ambulance, gets to the hospital in time to be saved by our great doctors, nurses. Not to mention, the EMS personnel who kept him alive on the way.
Wishful thinking to expect 8 hours, but if naps count, I’m good!
Not to take anything away from your undeniable talent as an illustrator and humorist, I have to ask: why is your UWS protagonist depicted wearing the garb of a prospector panning for gold at Sutter’s Mill?
He’s prospecting for comedy gold! And finding it!
it’s my fantabulous fashion sense.
hilarious!
Always nice to see Mrs. Martoon making an appearance.
Mrs. Martoon!
I bet they’re asleep all over America.
Ha! The truth!
I especially like the cartoon about the current political environment and how we try to cope! Keep it up!
I’d sleep much better if I weren’t paying attention.
How much would you be willing to pay to stop the garbage trucks’ Thursday 1AM-4AM trash bag popping ritual that wakes up our block?
giggle
Can relate!
G Martin is so funny in his illustrations. Put a smile on my face
Gary, you’re a great cartoonist. So enjoy the illustrations
I can relate too! Love the illustrations!
I’d laugh hysterically if I weren’t crying. The “night terrors” are especially bad these days.
To quote Johm Mellencamp “an honest man’s pillow is his peace of mind”
I swear your illustrations channel my life every week. I have this vague memory of my father throwing a cold, wet rag on my face to get me out of bed at 3pm when I was a teen. And these would be days when I went to sleep at 11pm. Whe WAS she!?!? ty Gary
Once again, Gary totally gets me. He’s the best!
I definitely feel this one.
Can relate!
How to get new uws transplants to hold the door shut. Instead of letting it slam? I approached them and they ignored me and still let door slam
lol
No truer words! Love it!
Ha Ha , very funny
That would be naps, right? Oh, naps are sooo important to those of us at a certain “point in our individual journeys…”
Gosh, do I identify with this cartoon!