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.
Well, I love the little gray bearded man. Just sayin…
Don’t we all?
Watch out where you jump in the parks. Lots of dogs off leash. Just sayin’.
It’s nice to see Gary happy, isn’t it???
Gary, I hope that dog isn’t smiling knowing what you’re going to jump in to 😅. Happy Fall!
Indeed. I have avoided shuffling through piles of leaves on NYC sidewalks ever since.
Summer’s not over yet! ❤️
I love Fall! Gray haired man is best!
What a wonderful idea for us seniors!
Love it. Makes me want to go jump in a pile of leaves.
Who knows what lurks a couple of layers down!! Safe jumping.
I guess you, and my pup Stella , are looking forward to piles of leaves and autumn!
Leaf it to an upper westsider…
Love that little old gray hair guy, and that he shares joy for all of us!
Looks so liberating! I’m afraid I’d end up hospitalized. I’m more like the old goat on the left! Happy autumn!
Goats on the UWS? Maybe the two-legged variety.
Are goats the traditional herald of Autumn?
What joy!
(referencing an earlier written WSR Odyssey) I hope there’s no dead chickens under there.
hooray!
I ran right out to jump in the leaves! I think I broke something!! :))
I’ll have what he’s having
I like the cartoon but would be better without the dog.
Love reading your toons every week!
Yippee!!!
Hang on to your hat!
Amen!
We all need more joy these days. Thanks Gary
I love autumn and I love crunchy leaves. This is perfect!
Why fall into autumn when you can jump into autumn! (Hope the goats will be taking care of the invasive weeds further south in Riverside Park next year….they were very far uptown this season.)
Upper west side is very joyful!!
Was there anything better when we were young than jumping into a pile of leaves and then smelling them as they would burn (generally after we were out of them ).
Welcome, fall! But whoever raked those leaves into that lovely big pile is NOT going to be happy. Just sayin…
I always get that feeling come Autumn.
I wanna be a little gray bearded man for Halloween! Love this!
Who doesn’t love a good dog?
Oh how I miss NYC in the autumn!
Thanks Mr Martoons!
I’m sorry. I’d like to be referred to as Dr. Martoons. 😉
Ahhh. The beauty of the UWS. Leaves, grey hair & a pup. Not sure about the goat.
It looks to me like the smiling man is saying…..just don’t look at me guys, jump in!
It’s fun….
Thank you! A soothing reminder that awful political and social news doesn’t stop glorious fall foliage (at least until the climate change goes that far…)
The smiling man seems to be saying….come on, guys, just don’t look at me,
jump in – it’s fun!
How nice to see this sweet cartoon in the middle of depressing news, definitely made my day!!
We have known “ the gray bearded man “, Gary Martin for over 25 years. His work continues to make my heart smile or think harder. So glad you include him in your publication!
Love it!!