William Francis Messner-Loebs (/ˈmɛznərˈloʊbz/; bornWilliam Francis Loebs Jr.,[1] February 19, 1949)[2] is anAmericancomics artist and writer from Michigan, also known asBill Loebs andBill Messner-Loebs. His hyphenated surname is a combination of his and his wife Nadine'sunmarried surnames.
William Messner-Loebs was born inFerndale, Michigan.[3] His right arm was amputated above the shoulder in infancy because of a cancerous tumor;[4] he writes and draws with his left hand.
Loebs was a friend ofKevin Siembieda, and played in Siembieda's role-playing group in Detroit; in 1981, his mother Frances (Schepeler) Loebs loaned Siembieda the money to start publishing role-playing books for his companyPalladium Books.[5]
His first comics work was for Power Comics Company[6] and onNoble Comics'Justice Machine withMike Gustovich. His first ongoing series wasJourney: The Adventures of Wolverine MacAlistaire, about 19th-century Michigan frontier life, which he both wrote and illustrated.[4] It was published from 1983 to 1986 byAardvark-Vanaheim andFantagraphics, followed by a limited seriesJourney: Wardrums. He wrote the 31-issueJonny Quest series published byComico from 1986 to 1988[7] and collaborated with artistAdam Kubert on theJezebel Jade limited series, a spin-off from theJonny Quest series.[8]
In 1988, he began writingThe Flash with issue #15 and continued through #61. He and artistGreg LaRocque introducedLinda Park as a supporting character in the series inThe Flash vol. 2 #28 (July 1989).[9] He also reintroduced thePied Piper as a reformed villain and established the character as gay, in issue #53 (Aug. 1991).[10]
In 2005, following years of limited freelance work and the loss of his and his wife's home in the early 2000s, Messner-Loebs's financial condition was publicized in the local newspaper and comics news sites and Internet message boards.[14][15] AuthorClifford Meth teamed up with artistNeal Adams to create a benefit auction to help Messner-Loebs.[16] The two also created an art tribute book entitledHeroes & Villains with all proceeds aiding Messner-Loebs.[1]
His financial situation improved somewhat, and he had a number of works published, including an issue ofGreen Arrow in 2005,[7] and several pieces inThe Three Tenors (Aardwolf Publishing), which he shared credits for along with Clifford Meth and artistDave Cockrum. A new "Journey" story was included in the one-shotMany Happy Returns in 2008, andIDW Publishing reprinted the original material in paperback. He has done writing forBoom! Studios, including the four-issueNecronomicon[17][18] and stories forZombie Tales. He has done illustration work for the 2007 humor bookChicken Wings for the Beer Drinker's Soul and a monthly cartoon for theLivingston [County, MI] Parent Journal. In 2008, he discussed additional, more substantial new works with various publishers.[19] In 2011, he wrote theDC Retroactive: The Flash – The '80s andDC Retroactive: Wonder Woman – The '90s one-shots.[20]
As of early 2018, William Messner-Loebs and his wife have continued to struggle financially, with Messner-Loebs working two part-time positions in Michigan.[21] In 2019, he co-wrote, with Amy Chu, issues #3–5 of the limited seriesKiss: The End forDynamite Entertainment, and contributed to an independent comic book anthology calledYEET Presents.[22]
In September 2020, William Messner-Loebs was named Project Editor for Resurgence Comics.[23][24]
^Stroud, Bryan D. (August 2016). "William Messner-Loebs and Adam Kubert DiscussJezebel Jade".Back Issue! (90). Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing:68–75.
^Cronin, Brian (August 8, 2011)."Almost Hidden - The Pied Piper Comes Out of the Closet". Comic Book Resources.Archived from the original on June 18, 2017.We gained one of the few openly gay superhero supporting characters in DC Comics History in 1991'sFlash #53, written by William Messner-Loebs and drawn by Greg LaRocque and Jose Marzan Jr.
^Greenberger, Robert; Manning, Matthew K. (2009).The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:Running Press. p. 41.ISBN978-0-7624-3663-7.Shortly after the 1989 feature [film], Batman even returned to the funny pages for a bit, in a comic strip by writer William Messner-Loebs...Lacking enough support from various papers to make it financially feasible, the new comic strip folded after two years, despite Carmine Infantino trying his hand at its art chores.
^Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1990s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.).DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 268.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.
^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 267: "Hawkman fought a new string of dark adventures with the help of writer William Messner-Loebs and artist Steve Lieber."
^Cronin, Brian (May 12, 2020)."Comic Legends: Why Did The Flash Lose His Lottery Winnings?".Comic Book Resources.Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. RetrievedJuly 21, 2020.If you just want to see some more recent Bill Loebs goodness, check out Yeet Presents here, who have been working with Bill recently, with a brand-new Wolverine Macalistaire story appearing inYEET Presents #33
^"Multiple Award-Winning Artist Joins Resurgence Comics' League of Legendary Creatives".Facebook. September 5, 2020.Archived from the original on July 20, 2025.Grand Rapids, MI Michigan-based independent comic book and graphic novel publisher, Resurgence Comics is proud to announce that Bill Messner-Loebs has joined their growing creative team. Messner-Loebs, winner of the Bill Finger Award, The Inkpot Award, and The Russ Manning Award has accepted the position of Project Editor.
^"Bill Finger Award Recipients". Comics Continuum. Archived from the original on June 16, 2017. RetrievedJune 15, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Bill Loebs". 2014.Archived from the original on July 20, 2025.Working with Boom! Comics Bill wrote a series of Zombie and Lovecraft comic short stories and the Macabre-award winning graphic albumThe Necronomicon.
