As South Austin mops up and braces for more potential storms, one of the ATX’s comic scene’s most beloved transplants, 30 Days of Night creator Steve Niles is rooting through the drenched debris in his house.
Niles moved to Austin last year to be near his collaborator and Scrabble buddy, the legendary horror artist Bernie Wrightson. However, he woke this morning, like so many of his neighbors, to find water flooding through his house.
This via BleedingCool.com:
Woke up at 6am to water rushing into the house. Already ankle deep by the time we saw it. We got as much as we could off the ground and tried to block but there wasn’t much we could do. The worst was trying to get to Gil (Niles’ pet turtle). It was waist deep almost and strong enough to throw around logs. I reached him and he was submerged and freaking out. Don’t remember much more then lifting him and carrying him all the way back to the house. Looking back I can see how scary it was.
As of this morning, Niles was trying to assess the damage, and get everything out of the way before any more rain hits. Unfortunately, he has already lost at least one irreplaceable collection of original art, and that may be the tip of the iceberg.
However, proving that Austinites can really step up to the plate in a pinch, friends of Niles have established PayPal account to help him rebuild at HelpSteveNiles@gmail.com. Niles writes, “I just wish I could catch my breath for 5 minutes and I can make my own money. Austin has had other ideas I guess.”
Niles and Wrightson will also be curating the upcoming “Something Spooky” art show at Guzu Gallery, opening next weekend. That’s more of a chance than ever to help an industry legend out in a tough time.
This article appears in October 11 • 2013.
