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

Martoonerville is One Year Old! An Upper West Sider’s Gratitude

June 1, 2025 | 8:39 AM
in ART, COLUMNS
44

By Gary Martin

Thank you, West Side Rag, for affording me the opportunity to submit my illustrations to you every week for the past year and populate them with the characters (real and imagined) that fill my life.

I am wealthy in my friends. Thank you for your ongoing support.”

* * *

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.

Share this article:
SUPPORT THE RAG
guest

guest

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

44 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
birdie
birdie
18 days ago

Yay! Martoonerville! It’s a joy to come to the WSR and see your illustrations week after week. Thank you for the silly ones. Thank you for the painful ones. Thank you for the ones that make us giggle. And thank you for the ones that make us think. We appreciate you too!

8
Reply
Neal Leibowitz
Neal Leibowitz
18 days ago

Congratulations and keep up the good work. The Rag is lucky to have you.

6
Reply
Gary
Gary
18 days ago

I want to Thank my wonderful partner Nancy! I couldn’t have done it without you.

9
Reply
SteveO
SteveO
18 days ago

These are SO wonderful! I look forward to your cartoons every week.

3
Reply
Kathy
Kathy
18 days ago

Happy one-year anniversary, Martoonerville! We look forward to your clever insights and a smile every week. Hope to see much more of your work!

4
Reply
Paula Sahli
Paula Sahli
18 days ago

You’re a brilliant illustrator who shares his inner, deepest thoughts. We look forward to your weekly posts! Keep them coming!

4
Reply
Laurie K
Laurie K
18 days ago

Yes THANK YOU West Side Rag for giving us Martoonerville every week. I look forward to this every single Sunday and never ever miss! And congrats Gary Martin – WOW!!!

3
Reply
David
David
18 days ago

What a beautiful series from an extraordinary man. I look forward to his commentary each week. Please keep going!!!!!!

3
Reply
Peter Birkenhead
Peter Birkenhead
18 days ago

The feeling is mootchal!

4
Reply
Joanna
Joanna
18 days ago

Congratulations on this milestone, GB! I look forward to seeing what’s on your mind every week. Even at your most curmudgeonly, I can often find a giggle in Martoonerville. Or a snort. Always, though –there is a keen sense of belonging. Thank you for sharing your lens on this crazy world.

P.S. You look good in candle
P.P.S. The light socket!

3
Reply
Nancy
Nancy
18 days ago
Reply to  Joanna

Joanna – I missed the light socket altogether! Hilarious.

1
Reply
Andrea R
Andrea R
18 days ago

Congratulations, Gary and West Side Rag! You make beautiful toons together! Looking forward to many more Sundays.

3
Reply
Don
Don
18 days ago

Thanks Gary for a year of laughs, chuckles and sighs!!!

3
Reply
Sue Taffet
Sue Taffet
18 days ago

Love Gary’s cartoons…he gives us all a real look at the real world! Keep them coming!

3
Reply
Corcoran
Corcoran
18 days ago

Thank you for giving us a piece of the Martoonerville universe every week! Always a treat.

3
Reply
Mark
Mark
18 days ago

Wow. That year went by fast.

Thank you, Gary, for taking us through a tumultuous year with such edgy grace. Your weekly cartoon has consistently been a source of relief and of humor for me. To many more!

3
Reply
Arline Shenker
Arline Shenker
18 days ago

I look forward to your weekly illustrations. Some I relate to and some I just laugh at. Thank you

2
Reply
L Shenker
L Shenker
18 days ago

My wife shows me these illustrations. Sorry I haven’t given feedback. A smile comes to my face had so many truths in comics

1
Reply
ecm
ecm
18 days ago

The greatest comedic challenge a satirical illustrator faces is reality — for instance, https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-conspiracy-biden-robot-clone-1235352122/ . Gary handles it very well.

1
Reply
Nina
Nina
18 days ago

Hey thats me!

1
Reply
Anne Watkins
Anne Watkins
18 days ago

How sweet it is to be loved by you. Great Gary marathon of valentines to the west side and its denizens. Thanks, WSR for publishing this weekly jolt of humor and thoughtfulness.

2
Reply
Debfrombrooklyn
Debfrombrooklyn
18 days ago

I really look forward to Gary’s posts every Sunday. It’s nice to know that his pulse and my pulse beat in harmony. Sometimes he gets me to thinking in a different direction from my usual mode. Keep them coming please!

2
Reply
Ken
Ken
18 days ago

I really enjoy your weekly illustrations and like the arrangement where I can comment on what I see in each one. Perhaps we who comment don’t all see the same content but that’s what makes it fun! Keep on keeping on!

2
Reply
Howie Cherpakov
Howie Cherpakov
18 days ago

Congratulations, Gary–you’re well on you way to becoming an UWS institution. Soon, when people reference the neighborhood, it will be Zabar’s, The Dakota and Martoonerville,,~

3
Reply
David
David
18 days ago

Congratulations, Gary. You certainly deserve the success. You are an excellent draftsman, or draftsperson, witty, satirical, plain funny. Here’s to the next 52 weeks.

2
Reply
Jean
Jean
18 days ago

Congratulations on 52 weeks! Keep the cartoons coming.

2
Reply
Steve
Steve
18 days ago

Happy birthday! Great, as always.

2
Reply
Sharon
Sharon
18 days ago

Congratulations! It seems like yesterday, keep up the awesome work.

2
Reply
Cindy
Cindy
18 days ago

Love the Martoonerville perspective! Please keep it coming!

2
Reply
Joe Chiplock
Joe Chiplock
18 days ago

Congratulations, Gary Martin. Happy Anniversary. We’re all the richer for the past year’s worth of MARTOONS you’ve shared with us all. Looking forward to what is coming this next year.

2
Reply
Judy Orich
Judy Orich
18 days ago

Mazel Tov Gary. We are thrilled for you to be able to share your unique talent on this amazing platform. Plus Nancy’s notifications and updates are much appreciated.

2
Reply
Mia
Mia
18 days ago

Congratulations on your anniversary! I always look forward to Gary’s cartoons!

2
Reply
Nancy
Nancy
18 days ago

Congrats

2
Reply
Mykola Mick Dementiuk
Mykola Mick Dementiuk
18 days ago

I’ve been chuckling ever since, keep up the great work!

2
Reply
nook
nook
18 days ago

Gary Martin, there’s something about your illustrations that are different from the rest. You have a warm, but acerbic view of the world. You may pretend to be a cranky old man, but your followers can see through that — with cartoons like these – where you expose your soft underbelly. I’m so happy to see what comes next every week. Hope you keep going beyond this one year anniversary!

0
Reply
Lorraine
Lorraine
17 days ago

Always look forward to them! Happy anniversary!

1
Reply
Griggles
Griggles
17 days ago

Accolades to you, GARY!. I look forward to Martoonerville weekly. Thank you for your fabulous illustrations and unmistakable wit! Keep them coming …….

0
Reply
Kathy B
Kathy B
17 days ago

I look forward to your creations every week! Thank you for all the smiles, Gary, and thank you to West Side Rag!

1
Reply
APC
APC
17 days ago

Congratulations and happy 1-year anniversary! Excited to see what you have in store for the next year!

1
Reply
Jane Rosamilia
Jane Rosamilia
17 days ago

THANK YOU, GARY!

1
Reply
Stacey
Stacey
17 days ago

Congrats and thanks for a year of thought provoking, fun, and clever Martoonervilles. Always wonderful to see your unique take on the world through your impressive talent. Here’s to year 2!

1
Reply
UWSJMG
UWSJMG
17 days ago

“I am wealthy in my friends” Yes!

1
Reply
Lori
Lori
17 days ago

Thank you!

1
Reply
Charisse Bozza
Charisse Bozza
16 days ago

Thank you for your visionary and funny cartoon panels. You always bring a smile to my face.

0
Reply

YOU MIGHT LIKE...

UWS Weekend: Great Things To Do in the Neighborhood
COLUMNS

UWS Weekend: Great Things To Do In (and Around) the Neighborhood: Movies; Fanatics Fest; Guided Tours of NYC

June 20, 2025 | 7:51 AM
Throwback Thursday: Memories of the UWS in the 1970s and 80s
ART

Throwback Thursday: Memories of the UWS in the 1970s and 80s

June 19, 2025 | 7:55 AM
Previous Post

The Sun, the Grid, and the Upper West Side: Finding Magic in Manhattanhenge — Rain or Shine

Next Post

Monday Bulletin: West Side Hawks Win Tournament; UWS Councilmember Says She’s Helped Pay for Asylum Seekers’ Dental Care; Update on Penny the UWS Chihuahua

this week's events image
Next Post
Monday Bulletin: West Side Hawks Win Tournament; UWS Councilmember Says She’s Helped Pay for Asylum Seekers’ Dental Care; Update on Penny the UWS Chihuahua

Monday Bulletin: West Side Hawks Win Tournament; UWS Councilmember Says She's Helped Pay for Asylum Seekers' Dental Care; Update on Penny the UWS Chihuahua

Here’s the UWS Dish: Super Nice Coffee and Bakery’s Donuts

Recent Federal Cuts Hurt Some Upper West Side Arts Groups

Recent Federal Cuts Hurt Some Upper West Side Arts Groups

  • 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.