COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK – “Who’s Who” #1 (March 1985)

'Who's Who' #1 (March 1985)

This week’s “Comic Book of the Week” is “Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe” #1, which was published by DC Comics in March 1985. This 26-issue limited series, which ran through April 1987, catalogued the wide variety of superheroes, villains, headquarters, buildings, weapons, groups, etc. that were part of the “DC Universe” group of comics. It was basically an indexed reference encyclopedia in comic book form.

The creative team included Len Wein, writer and editor; Marv Wolfman, writer and consulting editor; Robert Greenberger, associate editor and researcher; Todd Klein, production; Brenda Pope, proofreader; and Neal Pozner, design director. Peter Sanderson and E. Nelson Bridwell also served as researchers. Helen Vesik, Shelly Eiber, Tatjana Wood, Joe Orlando and Greg Theakston were colorists.

A variety of artists worked on this issue including Murphy Anderson, Eduardo Barreto, John Beatty, Steve Bissette, Ernie Colon, Jose Dalbo, Jan Duursema, Keith Giffen, Dick Giordano, Craig Hamilton, Don Heck, Rick Hoberg, Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane, Rick Magyar, Frank McLaughlin, Bob Oksner, Jerry Ordway, Joe Orlando, Chuck Patton, George Perez, Howie Post, Marshall Rogers, Alex Saviuk, Scott Shaw, Tod Smith, Curt Swan, Romeo Tanghal, Greg Theakston, John Totleben and Mike Zeck. Perez was the cover artist and the issue sold for $1 at newsstands.

“Who’s Who” #1 was a 32-page issue that contained 32 entries. Entries in this issue included:

-         Abel

-         Abnegazar, Rath and Ghast

-         Abra Kadabra

-         Adam Strange

-         Aegeus

-         Air Wave I

-         Air Wave II

-         Alley-Kat-Abra

-         All-Star Squadron

-         All-Star Squadron Headquarters

-         Amazing-Man

-         Amazo

-         Ambush Bug

-         Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld

-         Angle Man

-         Animal-Man

-         Anthro

-         Apokolips

-         Aquagirl

-         Aqualad

-         Aquaman

-         Arak, Son of Thunder

-         Arcane

-         Arion, Lord of Atlantis

-         Arkham Asylum

-         Atari Force

-         Atlantis

-         Atom I

-         Atom II

-         Atomic Knight

-         Atomic Skull

-         Auron

For those of you unfamiliar with “Who’s Who,” here’s an example of a typical entry. Aquaman is arguably the best known of all the characters in issue #1, and what follows is his complete entry. Most entries for characters follow the same format.

AQUAMAN:

PERSONAL DATA:

Alter Ego: Arthur Curry

Occupation: Ex-King of Atlantis, now Professional Crimefighter

Marital Status: Married

Known Relatives: Mera (wife), Orm (half-brother), Arthur Jr. (son, deceased), Tom and Atlanna Curry (parents, deceased)

Group Affiliation: Justice League of America

Base of Operations: City of New Venice

First Appearance: MORE FUN COMICS #73

Height: 6’1’’ Weight: 325 lbs.

Eyes: Blue Hair: Blond

HISTORY:

Tom Curry, a lonely lighthouse keeper, rescued a woman from a hurricane. While nursing her back to health, Curry fell in love with the woman, whose name was Atlanna. The two married and had a son, whom they named Arthur.

As a child, Arthur discovered he had the ability to breathe underwater and the telepathic power to command all creatures of the sea. When Arthur was six, his mother revealed on her deathbed that she was an outcast from the then-hidden sunken city of Atlantis. With his father’s help, young Arthur began training to use his unique abilities. Several years later, Arthur’s father passed away and Arthur became an orphan of the deep.

While in his early 20s, Arthur, now dubbed Aquaman by the media, met another young Atlantean outcast who called himself Aqualad (see Aqualad) and the two have been comrades ever since. At one point, Atlantis called upon Aquaman to help them defeat alien invaders, the named him their ambassador to the surface world.

Eventually, Aquaman met Mera, exiled queen of an interdimensional water world, and ultimately married her.

Soon after, King Juvor died and Aquaman was proclaimed King of Atlantis. Months later, Mera gave birth to Arthur Jr., who exhibited her super-power of creating solid objects from hard water. Together, this new royal family introduced Atlantis to the outside world.

In time though, the sinister Shark (see Shark), in human guise, deposed Aquaman and forced the family to relocate. The Sea King finally defeated the Shark and was offered the throne once more, but he turned it down, preferring to remain first and foremost a super-hero.

After his son was slain during a battle with his old foe Black Mantis (see Black Mantis), Aquaman and company moved to the submerged East Coast city of New Venice, where they currently operate out of the ground floor of an old police station.

POWERS & WEAPONS:

Aquaman’s greatest ability is his telepathic mastery over all of the sea’s inhabitants. His body is also more dense than that of a normal human, enabling him to survive the awesome pressure of the deep, as well as extreme changes in temperature. This density gives him superior strength on land, and he is also skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Underwater, his swimming speed is in excess of 100 mph.

The Sea King is unable to remain out of water indefinitely. This liability developed sometime after adolescence, and if Aquaman remains out of contact with water for more than an hour, he weakens, slips into a coma and will ultimately die.

This comic (unless I’ve sold it) and others are available for purchase through Peacock’s Books on Amazon.com. If you’re interested in buying it, search for it there by title, issue number and date of publication.