New Yorker Captures Just How Commuters Feel During 'Summer Of Hell'

NEW YORK CITY, NY – The New Yorker is on fire during the “Summer of Hell.” The cover for its Aug. 7 and 14 issue, published online on Monday, features a cartoon of a burning subway train pulling up to a 42nd St. stop with the devil at the controls.

In the cartoon, commuters on the red-tinted platform are frowning at their phones, sweating or gazing in puzzlement at the demonic train. In real life, they’ve been vocal about their anger at the authorities.

A brief interview with the artist suggested he was more concerned with the perennial problem of summer heat on the subway than the current transit crisis.

(For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

“For me, the only thing worse than descending into a New York City subway in July is descending into a New York City subway in August,” Bob Staake told the New Yorker.

Earlier this summer, another memorable New Yorker cartoon put a literal twist on the “Summer of Hell,” a phrase coined by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. That image featured a man on an escalator descending into an inferno at Penn Station.

Lead image from newyorker.com.