A League of Outsiders

I'll admit it. When I picked up my copy of Justice League of America #44 back in April, I was one of the first to cast a stone or two at the newly formed Justice League. I mean, at first glance, it really looks like a team of misfits. Allow me to break down the team for you:

• Batman, as played by Dick Grayson


• Donna Troy, who I do love, but can only really be described in layman's terms as a B-List Wonder Woman


• A shirtless, blue alien guy going by the name of Star Man, and isn't there already a Star Man that is neither blue or shirtless?


• and last, but certainly not least, a giant gorilla man, seriously, I'm not making this up

I mean, as much as I want to like this team, its hard to deny that it looks like someone just scooped these heroes out of the bargain bin. Needless to say, I was pretty skeptical. Even Etrigan couldn't take them seriously, and I mean, let's face it, he's kinda bargain bin-y himself. However, following the battle with said rhyming demon, the "Justice League" discovered Jade, the recently alive daughter of the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, that innately has Green Lantern-like powers. They were almost immediately joined by the Justice Society of America and I am then led into a JLA/JSA crossover arc, with a JLA team that I'm not entirely sure I'm feeling yet.

I'm not the hugest fan of team crossover comics in the first place, but two pretty lackluster teams made it ever less appealing. With that said, I'm not entirely sure why I stuck with this comic for the ride, but I did.

The next issues featured a pretty epic fight between Power Girl and, a very welcome addition to the Justice Leauge, Supergirl. Adding an "S" to the group definitely gives it at least an appearance of legitimacy. But then again, it is Supergirl, not the big guy, I think you all know the one I'm talking about.

Finally, after much Green Lanterny-ness, the arc came to a close. On the last couple pages Batman offered Jesse Quick of the JSA an invitation to the League, which she quickly accepted. I'm not entirely sure if Jesse Quick was always a cool character or if they just made her seem that way just before her League debut, but either way, I approve of the speedster.

At the end of a pretty satisfying cross-over, we had the final rooster for this incarnation of the Justice League of America. Let me break it down for you one more time, now with my fresh perspective:

• Batman, still Dick Grayson, apparently that's not changing


• Donna Troy, now kinda the only Wonder Woman, what with Diana going through God knows what in her own comic


• The new Star Man, who I still don't know too much about, but after wiki-ing him up, it could be cool to have an openly gay member of the JLA


• Congorilla, who I'm still not entirely sold on, but he does sorta fit the magical character slot


• Supergirl, personally, my favorite member of the Super family


• Jade, a green skinned hottie that packs a mighty punch, with a giant green energy fist, of course


• and Jesse Quick, she may not be anywhere close to the most high-profile speedster, but she does seem like she'll be a pretty great addition to the team

After I saw the full rooster of this Justice League, I finally realized what bugged me so much about it in the first place. This doesn't at all feel like the Justice League, it feels like The Outsiders. No, not that current batch of losers, my Outsiders, the Outsiders with Nightwing at the helm. That was a comic that I really loved. Which brings me to my final verdict.

At the end of the day, this is actually a pretty well-rounded team. They have their bat, their Wonder, their Super, their Lantern, their speedster, their magic person and their random Hero thrown in for flavor. As long as I can accept that this will never be the Justice League I read that involved the big three, I think I'll really dig this comic. This has the makings to be very similar to the Outsiders comics I read a couple years back, which could actually be pretty amazing. I'm really glad I didn't jump off this ride before it even really got started.

A New Beginning

My name is Terry Bartley and about five months ago I started training to run a marathon. I set this goal primarily as a gimmicky way to motivate myself to exercise and eventually become healthier. Throughout the past several months, I've ran more then I ever had in my life and even successfully ran my first 5k. However, I really didn't appear to be getting in better shape.

Although I'm convinced I'm in better shape now then I've ever been in my life, I still kinda look a little overweight. I've been doing something wrong. After a little research, I found out that, apparently, although running long distances will increase your endurance, they don't really lower your body fat percentage. That comes from a different kind of training. Thus, I've decided to try for a slightly different goal.

Last year, I went to Comic-Con, ya' know, the biggest geek-fest in the world. I really loved it and have already made plans to attend next year. "What exactly does this have to do with exercise?" you may ask. "Everything," I reply.

At next year's Comic-Con, my friends and I have decided we want to dress up as the Justice League International. We've not worked out all the details yet, but we do know that I'm going to be the fame-mongering Booster Gold and my friend Ty will be Blue Beetle (Ted Kord edition).

I'm sure some of you out there still don't quite get how me cosplaying one of my favorite B-List superheroes connects to fitness. To you, I respond, "Have you even looked at Booster's abs? I mean seriously, look at them!"

In other words, the most important part of my Booster Gold costume, and consequently the hardest part, is getting into Super Hero shape. Which brings me to what this blog will be turning into. I'll be chronicling my first ever foray into real fitness, weight training and all, and also keeping you up to date with my other Comic-Con "training."

Between now and next year's Comic-Con, I hope to be adding more writers to this blog, which can only be described as something that has never been done before. I'll be putting together two things that I love, fitness and pop culture reviews. A place where readers can get opinions and rants on the latest and greatest T.V., movies and comic books, among other things, and work-out tips. If nothing else, I'll be firmly discrediting the "unhealthy geek" stereotype. I hope the world's ready for another Super Hero, or at least someone that looks like one.