I tried to cover Justice League International in earlier days of the internet, with much slimmer wiki availability, so I cross/sub-referenced my interest to death and tapped out. The book was definitely the second leg of my outsized interest in Martian Manhunter, following my much favored Super Powers figure. I do recall flipping through the first issue at a mall bookstore, and being put off by the Guy Gardner of it all. Some weird off-brand Green Lantern was plotting to lord over his leadership credentials to a Justice League lacking a Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Atom, or Hawkman? I don't think I knew the bird-lady in the black and blue costume with a headband. I definitely had the barest exposure to Mister Miracle, in that garish red, yellow, and green get-up with the giant collar. Shazam was all over old Treasury Edition ads, and I caught his cartoon on the rare occasions I was up early enough on Saturday mornings, but he was still an off-brand Superman. Blue Beetle I saw in Chartlton Action Hero house ads when I'd catch a cheap Thunderbolt or Judomaster back issue at the flea market. I had the Manhunter and Dr. Fate action figures, but that alone wouldn't cinch a sale, or else I'd have picked up one of those Detroit issues I'd also tossed through at the mall. Batman was the only draw, but I knew him from The Brave and the Bold, so he was a team-up slut. His joining a group was no sign of quality, or else I'd have bothered with The Outsiders.
I got JLI #8, "Moving Day," at a dinged copy discount at a comic shop shortly after release. It was one of the rare funny books that was legitimately funny, especially J'Onn J'Onzz's endorsement of Oreo cookies by the caseload. He was a standout in one of my favorite single issues to that date. Shortly thereafter, I moved to Nevada, where the convenience store comic rack was way more open to DC Comics than Houston's. Heck, they even had spinner racks, which were scarce here, and that expanded the selection in general from what would fit from a small shelving area near the register. I still picked up JLI irregularly, as I was much less interested in any issues without Kevin Maguire artwork, or that seemed to be telling a serious story. I was there for the comedy. That was not what I got in Martian Manhunter #1, the only book I got at my only trip to a comic shop anywhere near Vegas. I hated everything about it, especially the wasted opportunity and elevated cover price. Put me off Martian Manhunter as a soloist for years afterward. Instead, I gravitated toward that Guy Gardner guy as the best part of that ensemble, because he was never played straight.
Outside of annuals, I lost interest in JLI around the time Ty Templeton left, and Adam Hughes was coming on. I hadn't been into the book for a while, so it wasn't te fault of the art change, but rather the tonal shift. They kept insisting that I needed to take these b/c-listers seriously, and I just couldn't. It was like when Moonlighting got mired in all that soapy relationship stuff when I just wanted snappy mysteries with wry, knowing humor.
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