William Messner-Loebs, the writer who set the tone for Wally West’s long journey to adulthood in his three-year run on The Flash back in 1988-1992, has fallen on hard times. The home he and his wife lived in was damaged by a gas leak last year and declared “unlivable,” and they’ve been living out of their car. He’s been doing odd jobs – janitor, Panera, etc. – trying to make ends meet.
Reporter Derek Kevra chronicles Bill Messner-Loebs’ heyday in comics during the 1980s and 1990s, then troubles in the early 2000s as work dried up just as illness and bills led to eviction. Help from the Hero Initiative and a fan campaign to get publishers to hire him again helped them get back on their feet, and they bought the home that they lived in until last year. Between interviews, Kevra dug out his old comic collection and found just how many of them had Messner-Loebs’ name on them.
The couple was recently approved for a housing voucher, and they’re looking for a new home. The Hero Initiative has gotten in touch as well. They’ve been relying on the Severe Weather Network this winter, as it’s the only emergency housing in the area. You can contribute to the SWN’s goFundMe page, or to help Bill and Nadine directly, you can contact Derek Kevra through fox2newsdesk at foxtv.com.
I’m glad everybody is covering this and I hope it leads to good results for him. As much as I like Waid’s run and much of Johns’, Messner-Loebs has always been my favorite Flash writer.