Rock Town Roller Derby

Body By Derby is a figure study of active derby athletes to show the different body types of active skaters and the physical effects derby has on the players. This entry features derby athletes who identify as butch, trans*, gender non-conforming, or intersex of any variance.  

MORIAH HUMMER EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH ROLLER DERBY, CRIME AND MONSTER FIGHTING

Comic books have not always been such an inclusive club or even accepted in the mainstream. In fact, it really has not been until the past 10 years with the success of the superhero films that has helped open the door to a brand-new, diverse community, a burgeoning fraternity that is discovering what a lot of people have known for a very long time, comics are cool.

Part of the issue is that comics used to be such an exclusive club for a lot of people who felt like misfits and outcasts. In addition, a lot of social awkwardness came with the territory. Today, those barriers are being broken down exactly like when Mikhail Gorbachev took down the Berlin Wall in his Glasnost initiative. One person who is beginning to really chip away at that wall is Mariah Hummer, with the self-publishing of her all-female protagonist roller derby comic, Flat Track Furies.

Hummer was not always a geek or roller derby icon. No, in fact, it was not until she met her husband that she was introduced to this world. Then, while studying opera at the University of Northern Colorado and after her and Paul had just gotten married, her parents informed her that they would no longer be able to assist with her college tuition due to some unforeseen expenses.

Hummer took the time to reflect on what she really wanted. Prior to this, Hummer and her husband, Paul, who likens her debut comic to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, due to it’s zany concept and appearances of monsters, was contacted by a high school friend who invited the couple to her first roller derby match.

The rest is history as they were hooked. “Her derby name is Amy Armalite as she sent Paul a Facebook invite to her first event. We thought it was pretty cool. I knew once my schedule cleared up, I’m doing roller derby. My Dad was like you can’t do this forever, it’s cute and all, which only made me want to do it more.”

“I never played a sport, but it is very inclusive, come as you are. You don’t have to have an athletic body, they’ll train you. I’ve become friends with many women that I would have never met or been friends with. I have been welcomed into this big family of derby sisters.”

Roller derby is not just Hummer’s deal either, as her husband coaches their traveling teams as well.

Roller derby also opened Hummer’s eyes to the possibility of creating her own comic, and she has now self-published, Flat Track Furies, about a roller derby crime and monster fighting team. “This is the first thing I ever done. Paul is helping me write a second issue right now. Depending on how this turns outs I will do this forever.”

Not bad for the self-taught Hummer. After her self-imposed college break, Hummer enrolled in the Fine Arts program at Colorado State University, but was exasperated at every turn. “It was a little frustrating,” Hummer expanded. “I got a lot of flack for wanting to do a lot of commercial stuff. My teacher was like I can’t help you because I don’t know anything about comics. My teachers wanted me to do more highbrow art. I kind of felt like I was really on my own.”

“After graduation, I kind of felt a little bit lost. I did not know if i wanted to illustrate children’s book, comics, graphic design logos, then Paul and I came up with the idea of Flat Track Furies, and it kind of clicked.”

The decision to launch Flat Track Furies was just the start of the road to self discovery for Hummer, who then had to pretty much learn from scratch what she needed to do.  At the end of the day, these experiences is what will make her successful in the field of self publishing.

“I had to overcome what is my work ethic,” Hummer elaborated. “It takes a lot of time creating a comic, thinking through a lot of ideas. I ran into a lot of hurdles.”

“I found that self publishing is really satisfying. I did all the work for this. I had to go through the headache of doing everything. There is definitely a certain pride I feel that I have beee through the trenches with my comic book, instead of farming it out.

What makes her story all the more remarkable is that Hummer did not actually start reading comics until she was 21 years-old. Introduced to the medium by her husband, she does not entirely recall what they first book was she picked up, only that it had a huge impact on her and that it was not something mainstream.

“It wasn’t Batman or Superman, it was completely independent. I thought this was really great, telling a sequential story this way through art. I did not actually start drawing human things until this time.”

“Now my frustration comes from learning complicated perspectives. My first issue (of Flat Track Furies) was told straight on, for the next issues, I am really looking forward to doing different perspectives, bird’s eye views, establishing shots, more complex in establishing space.

Making her first-ever comic convention appearance a few weeks back, Hummer was able to interact with fans and explain Flat Track Furies, which resulted in her selling one-fifth of her initial 250-issue run. But that moment does not compare to when she realized she became a roller derby star, in at least one person’s eyes.

“I went to Seattle two weeks ago for a road tournament, and a teammate of mine brought a friend. The friend’s daughter was so jealous because her Mom got to meet me. It was this surreal moment. That’s the coolest thing that ever happened to me. I had also had one person come to the con who said ‘I never met you before and saw your post on Facebook and wanted to come to buy your book.’

“The women that stopped at my table at the convention, they got really excited about a book about female characters. They don’t feel like a woman in a boy’s club now.”