Who’s Walt?
Walt Jaschek is an American writer and creator based in St. Louis, Missouri. He describes his mission in life as “entertaining the world with smart fun.”
Walt is a retired copywriter whose funny ad campaigns for big American brands earned him dozens of Clio and Addy Awards and finally induction in 2018 into the St. Louis Media History Foundation Hall of Fame.
Declaring “I’m not history yet,” Walt is now writing books, comics, and screenplays – and stories about all of it.
A longer, more detailed bio pf Walt Jaschek is below.
Okay. But how to pronounce “Jaschek?”
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Can I read a longer bio of Walt?
Sure. Right after this photo.
Longer bio of Walt
Walt Jaschek (Born Sept. 2, 1955) is an award-winning writer of comedy, copy and comics, with a lifelong bent toward the funny. Walt’s motto: “Life is worth laughing.”
Walt’s latest book
Walt is the author and publisher of THE DENNY O’NEIL TAPES, A CONVERSATION ABOUT COMICS, CULTURE AND AMERICA (2023.) The book features a long interview conducted in 1970 with the influential comics writer from St. Louis by a group of fans – including Walt, who recorded the conversation and first transcribed it when he was 15 years old. The far-ranging interview included big news about the return of the Joker. The book also includes biographical material, and scans of a Denny O’Neil original script for GREEN LANTERN, gifted by Denny to Walt in that 1970 meeting.
Walt’s fanzine days
The Denny O’Neil interview first appeared in three 1971 issues of the mimeograph fanzine GRAFAN, of which Walt was co-creator. In his later teen years, Walt served as a frequent editor of and contributor to both GRAFAN and its follow-up, SON of GRAFAN, the newsletters of the Graphic Fantasy Society of St. Louis, the local comics club, where he first formed lifelong friendships with other creators. It was also during this period Walt began a correspondence with author Dr. Fredric Wertham, who was compiling material for a book about fanzines. (Affiliate link.) Some of Walt’s zine writing is included in Wertham’s book.
It was in SON OF GRAFAN 13 (1972) Walt first published part of the story “The Sacred Crest,” by his friend and fellow Grafan member Jim Theis. The tale, a sequel to Jim’s story “Eye of Argon” (published years earlier in another STL zine, OSFAN,) finally saw print in its complete form in 2024 when Walt produced the book The Sacred Crest: A Grignr the Barbarian Story.
Walt’s very first fanzine was FANTASY FEATURES, published in 1969 when he was 14, notable for its publication in issue #3 the comic feature Green Vomit, by Bob Gale, who would later co-create the “Back to the Future” film franchise.
Walt’s comics writing
A prolific comic book writer/designer since those early fandom days, Walt’s current creator-owned comics for sale on Amazon and elsewhere include HEROBOTS, "super robots powered by the heroic thoughts of kids,” and EARTH DUDE, “the planet’s best pal.” Walt’s earlier, self-published comic book anthology, SLIGHTLY BENT COMICS, introduced readers to his original comic co-creations, including CORP RUT, RECYCLED MAN, DANG GNATS and MEL COOL; MALL COP (the original Mall Cop in pop culture, pre-dating “Paul Blart” by decades.)
Note: all those characters and concepts are available for adaptation by Big Media and streaming services. Walt Jaschek’s email is waljaschek@icloud.com
Walt’s non-creator-owned comic book writing includes THE GOLDEN ADVENTURES OF BRETT HULL, a 3-issue mini-series distributed by McDonalds; an X-Men parody in Marvel Comics’ WHAT TH—?#5; and a Savage Sisters story in ONE-SHOT WESTERN.
He’s currently developing a photocomic, DETECTIVE MANN, starring Walt as the detective character he’s long played. Speaking of that…
Walt’s comedy acting
As a comedy actor, Walt has appeared as Harold Pilgrain in the feature film comedy SPIRITS OF JUPITER; as Doctor D’Abo in the movie serial parody SONS OF THE SADDLE; as an unsuspecting man walking into a nude office in the TV sketch comedy OFFICES IN THE RAW; as an extra in his advertising agency parody HOW TO KILL AND PITCH; and as the lead character in his film TEEN DETECTIVE, shot on 8mm while Walt was in high school. His IMDB page has pics and clips of it all.
Walt’s copywriting career
A retired copywriter and creative director in the advertising business, Walt’s 40-year career of creating funny campaigns for national brands earned him induction in 2018 into the St. Louis Media History Foundation’s Hall of Fame. He later spoofed the induction lovingly to promote the foundation.
His co-inductee was Paul Fey, Walt’s partner in their lauded radio advertising boutique agency Paul & Walt Worldwide in the 1990s. A playlist of their funny, Clio-winning radio commercials is on YouTube.
Walt’s copywriting career began in 1981 as the creative director of The Flynn Group advertising agency in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There he created his first ad campaigns; wrote for the local paper; and began to attract attention for his funny radio commercials.
Returning to St. Louis in 1985, Walt did a short stint as Advertising Manger for Southwestern Bell Telecom, where he created the “Productivity at Work” and “Let Freedom Ring” ad campaigns.
Then in April, 1988, Walt left Southwestern Bell and began his long-running freelance writing business, originally called Jaschek Ink. His business and reputation amped up when he won “Best of Show” in the 1989 St. Louis Addy Awards for a single-page letter introducing his services.
Walt’s teaching at Webster University
From 2000 to 2020, Walt served as a part-time adjunct instructor at Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri, teaching marketing-focused classes in Creative Strategies, Copywriting and Radio Production. He served as a mentor to many of the ad students and sometimes connected them with their first jobs.
Walt’s college daze (pun intended)
In 1978, Walt earned a B.A. in Speech Communications from the University of Missouri - St. Louis. In 1974, as a sophomore, Walt served as editor-in-chief of THE UMSL CURRENT, the campus newspaper, where his love for deadline-based creativity was forged and rewarded – with a $30/week paycheck. Also forged were more lifelong friendships, including with Paul Fey, also an editor; later they would form the creative agency Paul & Walt Worldwide.
It was in The Current that Walt published his first comic strip Christopher McKarton, a crime drama, which he wrote and in which he also sometimes appeared. The strip ran from 1974 to 1977.
Walt also wrote for the paper frequently, interviewing a wide range of subjects, including in 1975 Marvel Comics writer Steve (“Howard the Duck”) Gerber. In 1978, he wrote a loving tribute to the paper in its 300th issue.
Walt returned to UMSL in 2012 to speak to students in advertising and marketing; he was given by the class the “Awesome Advertising Award.”
Retired life
Walt lives in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, with his wife Randy, also a prolific creator (of miniature furniture on Etsy.) In addition to their home-based creative endeavors, they hike, travel, hit the gym, and regroup nightly for a “sunset sip,” often of a grape-based beverage. Here’s the couple.
Randy Rosenbaum and husband Walt Jaschek in 2019 at an event for TheSTL, a St. Louis movement and website, which published some Walt feature stories that year.
Walt is all over social media with content he hopes inspires creativity, joy and laughs. Befriend and follow on your favorite platform.
Including here!
