204. “You May Already Be a Wiener!”

March 6, 2010

Q: I remember a single-panel cartoon, which may have appeared on a NL subscription renewal notice rather than in the magazine. A hot dog is standing by a mailbox, reading mail, specifically a flyer that reads, “You may already be a wiener!” Ring any bells?

A: It was used frequently on subscription cards in the magazine in the early seventies. It was by cartoonist Charles Barsotti. He features it prominently on his website (in a slightly more neatly drawn form): http://www.barsotti.com/fbelly1.html [Update: Barsotti’s site appears to have expired, so I’ve changed the link so it goes to an archive of the page on the Internet Wayback Machine.]

Comments

I have the original! He was friends with my mom.

—Amy Albright

February 29, 2024 6:49 pm

Wow, that's great! It's a classic.

—Mark

February 29, 2024 7:13 pm

I remember it fondly and vividly. I can’t believe all the crappy after-market rip-offs now on the web.

—Andrew

April 21, 2024 12:21 pm

Which specific issues had the weiner subscription card? Trying to track down a back issue the card. Thank you.

—Jeff Kilian

October 18, 2026 5:54 pm

I've flipped through all the issues in my collection (including anthologies and special issues) from 1972 through 1975 (the most likely period in which it appeared), and only found it in May 1973 ("Fraud") and July 1973 ("Modern Times"). I could swear it appeared more often than that, as evidenced by my used of the word "frequently" above. But there you go.

—Mark

October 19, 2026 8:22 pm

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