Dan Zettwoch

Dan Zettwoch is a cartoonist, information designer, and printmaker in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to many self-published zines and handcrafted mini-comics, his graphic novels include “Birdseye Bristoe” (Drawn & Quarterly), “Amazing Facts & Beyond” (Uncivilized Books), and “Science Comics: Cars and Science Comics: Bridges” (First Second). His latest book is “Missouri Weird & Wonderful.” His goofball illustrations and jam-packed diagrams have also been seen in the Missouri History Museum, the State Capitol Museum, and in homemade screenprints commemorating local birds, baseball, and strange foods.

Personal Website

Missouri Weird & Wonderful, 2023

RFT, 2022

Science Comics BRIDGES: Engineering Masterpieces, 2022

MOtimeline, 2021

Illustration of various cars in various colors, as well as the machinery that powers them; the color scheme consists of bright pops of color — vermilion, red, yellow, light gray, teal and slate blue. The title, "CARS" — "Engines That Move You" is in the upper center, set in a cartoon-like, bubbly font.

Cover from “CARS: The Engines That Move You” graphic novel, MacMillan, First/Second, 2019

WestTexas, 2019

A book on top of a large grayscale poster: the cover, in yellow — with lighter yellow flames running along the bottom edge — reads, "BEWARE OF BALDKNOBBERS", hand-lettered in a white slab serif font. Below the title is an illustration of a framed portrait of a veiled/masked figure with antler-like protrusions from the sides of their head.

Cover from Redbird #5 “Beware of Baldknobbers” zine, Self-published, 2018

A brochure/poster folded out: the hand lettered title reads, "MUSEUMS OF St. Louis" and frames an intricate illustration of an assortment of various subjects, each a focus of a museum. The drawings are set on a light cream background that's a map, with red pins marking the location of each museum.

Detail from Museums of St. Louis, AAM/Contemporary Art Museums, 2018

Chuck Berry, 2017

Installation view of two walls; the one in the middle of the image contains a large-scale illustration of a narrative, with the hand-lettered text "KEEPING the PUMPS RUNNING" — "1875 Water" in the center; what follows are several paragraphs of text interspersed with some larger illustrations. The wall to the right contains an illustration of (what appears to be) a cityscape.

Image from “A Walk in 1875 St. Louis” exhibit, Missouri History Museum, 2015

An open spread of a graphic novel: the color scheme is a warm cream/yellow-red, and the text reads, "When times got tough for the town — this must've been '89, the height of the catfish kill-off... sloganeering rights were sold to Ol' Tump & his tackle shop just to keep the juices flowing. But later... the powers that be — chambers of commerce, utilities commission, etc. — started worryin' about the ethics of turning our only local landmark into a billboard. But there were concerns about how expensive it would be to re-paint. (not to mention, I grow my own nightcrawlers.) But any-way, after lots of de-bate and suggestions, it was decided to do whatever would be cheapest and require the least amount of paint... [international red], [electric daffodil] ... and would also somehow be "community enriching." But it still ended up looking like an advertisement, only now for the big new church up the road. I guess it's a good message, at least. Even if it still seems fishy to me."

Pages from BIRDSEYE BRISTOE graphic novel, Drawn & Quarterly, 2015

Select Exhibitions and Presentations

“Missouri Bicentennial Exhibit,” State Capitol Museum, Jefferson City, MO, 2021-23.
“Famous Fictional,” Mad Art Gallery, St. Louis MO, 2007-22.
“A Walk in 1875 St. Louis,” Missouri History Museum, St. Louis MO, 2015-17.

News

Dan Zettwoch, BFA ’99, lecturer in the Sam Fox School’s MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture program, has a new series on view in Weil Hall.