Jets Notebook Science-Fiction Fan Hopes Jets? Opportunity Isn?t a Fantasy By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT Published: June 2, 2007 HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., June 1 ? Darian Barnes has done some of his best work creating comic-book characters like Paradox, Outback and Ironbound in a series called the ?National Triumph League.? He has created the story lines of their lives and has overseen their illustration. Now, after signing with the Jets as a free agent during the off-season, he will try to bring stability to a revamped backfield as the team?s starting fullback. The ?National Triumph League? is a figment of Barnes?s imagination, something he has worked on for the past year and hopes to have in stores by September. On the field, though, he is facing a real challenge. The Jets running game was anemic last season. In an effort to revive it, the team traded for Bears running back Thomas Jones and allowed fullback B. J. Askew to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Barnes, who played last season for the Miami Dolphins and has started only 22 games in his five-year career, was signed days after Jones was acquired. ?Darian was a guy we were familiar with from playing in Miami,? Coach Eric Mangini said. ?He is a good physical lead blocker and he had worked with Thomas in Tampa Bay. That is a nice plus to the whole equation.? Jones, with his deep voice and thick arms covered with tattoos, more closely resembles one of the characters from Barnes?s comics than does Barnes, who has a high-pitched voice and a burly beard. ?I am a huge sci-fi fan, anything sci-fi I watch,? Barnes, a New Jersey native, said Friday after the Jets? voluntary workouts. ?My whole life I have read Batman, Punisher and Greenlander religiously.? The ?National Triumph League? is based on 10 superheroes who compete to catch supervillains in a league set up by the government. ?It uses our interest in comic books and Darian?s experiences and insights in professional sports,? the comic?s co-creator, Joshua Goldfond, said. Barnes and Goldfond came up with ideas for comic books during late-night video-game sessions during their freshman year at Rutgers University. Barnes later transferred to Hampton and signed with the Giants as a rookie free agent after college. He was cut by the Giants and joined the Buccaneers, winning the Super Bowl as a rookie in 2002. Barnes has caught 14 passes in his career for 87 yards. Mangini said he thought his role could be expanded. ?If he shows that he is a very good receiver out of the backfield, that could be something that expands,? Mangini said. ?Carrying the football is something that is definitely a possibility.? Mangini said he had heard about the comic books. ?I used to read comic books at one point,? he said. ?But I haven?t read one of his yet.?
haha they misquoted him. greenlander is probably the green lantern. good thing the ny times is doing its research
