I hope that those times when I really ask for your help are few and far between.

I also hope that, for the most part, when I ask for a Tweet to be RT’ed, or an online poll to be shamelessly manipulated, you grin, and go to it with the good humor intended.

This is different.

I need your help. Specifically, I need your help, helping my friend Scott.

In case you don’t know, my friend Scott Olman is the inspiration for Dork Tower’s Igor. In a sense, he IS Dork Tower. Had I never know Scott, there’s a good chance Dork Tower would be enormously different from what it is today. Scott’s – and by extension, Igor’s – love of life, and ability to laugh in the face of hard times, has been an inspiration both to my work and (more importantly) to me.

Scott is a cancer survivor, and has had struggles with health issues over the last decade. A few years ago, he almost lost his leg. For a while, he was driving to Milwaukee almost on a daily basis for treatments that – though painful and costly – eventually saved his leg.

Fortunately, Scott and his wife, Dawn, have health insurance. But here’s the catch – with a 20% deductible, they still ended up having to pay more than $50,000 for the treatments. And that wiped out all of their savings. And then some.

Now, there’s been a relapse, and Scott has to return to Milwaukee, for continued treatments. As a result of this, Scott and Dawn’s financial situation has turned from on-the-edge to fully, terrifyingly over the precipice.

Now, apart from new medical expenses, they also face the very real threat of eviction, with back-rent owed.

It’s not as if they’re not trying: Dawn holds down a couple of jobs, and Scott’s been job-hunting every day, though he’s had no luck for a while. This is not a great time to job-hunt, anyway. So he’s sold the majority of his gaming collection (along with many other things) just to help make ends meet.

Here’s a small part of what I’d like to do to help.

I don’t sell the covers of anything I’ve ever created – not a comic book, not a collection, not a game. I just don’t. There’s not one out there. They’re special, to me. But to help Scott with his medical expenses – hell, to help Scott and Dawn with their back-rent, and, you know, NOT GET EVICTED, I’m selling one of my personal favorite pieces: the original artwork for Munchkin Zombies.

Click on the image or here for a larger version. This is a BIG piece – 14″ x 17″, pen and ink on bristol board, and it’s REALLY nice.

The high bidder for the artwork will ALSO get a special Munchkin rule that ties into the Igor Fund, written JUST FOR THEM, by Munchkin creator Steve Jackson himself.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! I’ll also draw the special rule card up, on a blabk Munchkin card, and that will be included in the package. You’ll be able to play it in ANY game of Munchkin, to the extreme jealous of your co-Munchkins.

All proceeds from this auction will go directly to Scott and Dawn. I realize the $2,000 “buy-out” amount may be a bit of wishful thinking, but who knows? I *may* have a multi-millionaire follower in the Army of Dorkness, and if so, well, hey, maybe they’d like to act like a multi-millionaire RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE!

But $2,000 is the goal to shoot for, between everything. “Everything?” you ask? Well, I’ve also encouraged Scott to set up a donation page on his blog. Asking strangers for money is never easy – at least not for people like Scott and Dawn, who want to work for their money. But this is important, and this is necessary.

I know that times are tough all around, and that many people across the country are going through stuff that’s as bad as Scott now is. But Scott IS Igor, and without Igor, I dread to think what my career would have ended up as. Scott’s not just my inspiration, he’s also my friend. I want to help my friend out.

So please, if you’ve ever had a moment where Igor’s made you smile, bid on the Munchkin Zombies cover. If that’s out of your range, consider dropping something – anything – Scott and Dawn’s way. It doesn’t have to be a lot. But the Army of Dorkness is sizable, warm-hearted, and every little bit – even just a couple of bucks – helps.

You can bid on the Munchkin Zombies cover art HERE.

You can make donations directly to Dawn and Scott HERE. There’s a button in the upper-right corner of Scott’s blog, to contribute to the Dawn and Scott Help Fund!

I realize the economic times we’re in. Please don’t worry if you can’t afford to help out right now. But if you can, well…I’d deeply appreciate it.

And who knows? If we can reach our goal of $2,000, I’ll come up with something special, for everyone who helped out…

Just remember: YOU could be the ONLY person in the world to own a Munchkin cover – AND you’d be helping out Dork Tower’s Igor – ermmmm…I mean, “my friend Scott” – at the same time!

Muskrat out,