The Greatest Poster in the History of Roller Derby

In the average art competition, you have multiple works submitted to a panel of judges who scrutinize the works, evaluating them for beauty, skill, inherent meaning, uniqueness, and fulfilled intent. Then there's this art competition, where one work kicked down the door before the competition was even announced, slaughtered the judges and their families, wrested the trophy from their lifeless hands and hoisted it victoriously to the blaring strains of an Iron Maiden song. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the greatest poster in the history of either roller derby or heavy metal.

I sat down with artist, illustrator, "The Goon" comic book creator and children's book author Eric Powell to discuss his dedication to his craft and his growing love for the sport of roller derby.

Derby Helper: You're an Eisner Award-winning comic book author and illustrator with an impressive resume of past work in the comic industry and an upcoming movie in the works. What is is about roller derby that has captured your attention in such a dramatic fashion?

Eric Powell: *A blinding, fiery shock-wave of awesome belched from his mouth and eye sockets, scorching the hair off my arms and eyebrows and melting the digital voice recorder I was recording with. I ran screaming into the street and threw myself into a snow bank to extinguish my flaming clothing.*

Derby Helper (from the ambulance stretcher): Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today and good luck in your future endeavors!

(For a further searing flash of awesome, visit www.thegoon.com)

Edit:  If you're interested, it has been made available for purchase on Ebay at http://cgi.ebay.com/Eric-Powell-Roller-Derby-Poster-large-24x36-Signed_W0QQitemZ320485916173QQihZ011QQcategoryZ72182QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Identity Crisis

Today's reader question comes to us from amidst the tranquil beauty of that arboreal paradise we all know and love, Detroit. Wait no, it's from the OTHER arboreal paradise, Vermont.

Dear Derby Helper,

So we play the coolest sport in the world. That I get. But it totally bugs me when friends and coworkers introduce me to people leading with the fact that I play roller derby. This happens to me all the time! Getting introduced as a roller girl in a non-derby situation can be really uncomfortable, particularly in business settings when they learn you're a roller girl before they learn what you do for work. It's gotten my sister cornered in bars. You end up taking 10 minutes out of your day or night to explain to someone you will probably never meet again, "Yes, it is real. No, it's not like in the 70's." Etc., etc.

While I appreciate that people think I play a cool sport and I DO like talking about derby, I can tell people on my own if and when I decide it's appropriate. How does one manage these unwelcome introductions/conversations with grace and style?

Thanks!
Susan Slamberg, Green Mountain Derby Dames

Yes, being awesome is sometimes a heavy burden to bear. (An example of this is the dozens of autographs I have to sign for you adoring blog fans every morning on the walk from my front door to my car.) And to quote Spider-Man's Uncle Ben perfectly with no embellishment whatsoever, "With great derby comes great awesomeness." So one particular burden that many roller derby players have to bear is that their resulting awesomeness causes their real life identity to be eclipsed somewhat. So Susan, let's take a couple of your statements and analyze them to see what kind of possible solutions we can come up with.

You start out with "So we play the coolest sport in the world...but it totally bugs me when friends and coworkers introduce me to people leading with the fact that I play roller derby."  My response is OF COURSE they lead with your derby affiliation!  The ability to strap wheels to the bottoms of your feet and hurl yourself at breakneck speed into a pack of marauding, tattooed ruffians is the closest thing earth has to a real superpower.  Ask yourself this:  Do nerds buy Spider-Man comics to read about an underachieving photographer who can't pay his rent?  No, they buy them to see an athletic, brightly costumed person zipping around kicking peoples arses.  Remind you of anyone?  So one possible solution is to embrace your inner superhero and become comfortable with your derby identity being your the dominant one.

Another statement you made was "Getting introduced as a roller girl in a non-derby situation can be really uncomfortable, particularly in business settings" and I can definitely see why this would be a problem.  If someone learns that you can physically pound them into pulp before they learn that you have 8 years experience in massage therapy, it will be tough for them to ever be able to visualize you fixing people's injuries instead of crushing their skulls into a concrete floor.  Therefore if it is, say, your work friend Jim who keeps introducing you derby-name-first in business situations, it is completely acceptable for you to take the time to explain to Jim in detail why it is important that he stop doing this.

And if he forgets, you might have to explain it to him twice.

AFK LOL WTF ZZZ

You may have noticed a bit of a drought here on new posts since Christmas.  This is partly due to the lovely Jess starting school full time and still working a nearly full schedule.  This is also partly due to the fact that for Christmas I received an absolutely fabulous bottle of smuggled, high-grade Mexican tequila.  I'm told I enjoyed the hell out of but all I remember is the sensation of cold, flashing lights, the screams of nuns and wondering where my pants were.  The point is that due to college classes and court-mandated community service, there has been a temporary ebb in our output.  But don't you fret derby fans, new derbylicious articles are on their way in the next few days.  Pinky swear!