Please help comics writer and artist William Messner-Loebs and his wife stay in their home. Illness and injuries have left them in dire financial straits, and they’re facing eviction.

His run on The Flash is one of my favorites. The character work on Wally West from when he started to when he finished was amazing, and he made me think about a lot of social issues as a teenager that I might not have encountered until later.

Clifford Meth is managing a new crowdfunding campaign to help them. he writes:

Bill Messner-Loebs’s work in comics was beloved by fans for many years, but the circumstances of his life—illness and injuries—have conspired to make things financially quite difficult.

Recently out of the hospital, Bill and his wife are now facing eviction. You can read the brutal details of his medical and legal situation in his own eloquent and painfully personal words on his Facebook:

Facebook: William Messner-Loebs

I implore you to help this kind and gentle soul. He’s endured a terrible episode and needs human kindness and generosity now. Thank you, and may God bless our efforts together.

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about William Messner-Loebs’ struggle with homelessness. You may remember him as the writer on The Flash during the late 1980s and early 1990s, who took over Wally West’s series and began a coming-of-age story that would play out over the next few years, as well as two years’ worth of Impulse stories later in the decade.

A gas leak at his home last year left it unlivable, and he and his wife have been living out of their car and in shelters since then. The comics industry has largely passed him by, so he’s been picking up odd jobs as a janitor and delivering food to pay off debt from health issues and to make ends meet.

His stories were infused with social awareness: Marginalized people like gay supervillains and (ironically) the homeless. Women scientists being gaslighted by their peers. Estranged families trying to reconnect. Big business dumping toxic waste in small towns. When Impulse’s hometown was threatened by a flood, all the local supervillains pitched in to help. Nobody stopped laying sandbags to attack each other.

There was a strong theme in all of his stories that people need to help each other, not turn a blind eye or tear each other down. And now it’s our chance to help him. The article last month linked to a crowdfunding campaign for the shelter they’ve been relying on. Now there’s a personal GoFundMe campaign that will go directly to Bill and Nadine Messner-Loebs. I’ve contributed, and I hope you will too.

William Messner-Loebs, who wrote several years of The Flash in the late 1980s/early 1990s, is going though a rough patch (via Blog@Newsarama):

Hey, everyone! I seem only to get on with bad news. This has been a “Challenging” month. My wife, Nadine, will need heart surgery within the next year and some expensive treatments before that. Possibly eye surgery as well. After the carbon monoxide leak we’ve discovered some roof problems and serious flooring issues. And our stored furniture will probable be sold in a couple of weeks. So… this would be an excellent time for anyone who wants original artwork, pages drawn to order, Journey pages or anything else to get in touch! Also anyone out there who feels they may have screwed me or stolen from me in the past (a very small subset, but still…) this is an excellent time to get your conscience completely cleared at a steep discount. 25 cents on the dollar. These prices will not last!

And to top it off, today’s his birthday.

Messner-Loebs’ run on The Flash (#15-59) is available in re-issue for the first time as of last year, digitally on ComiXology. I don’t know what kind of royalties he gets from those, but I imagine it must help a little. If you’re into collecting original art, now’s a good time to buy some. Contact info is at the Blog@Newsarama article.