Who's Who in the DC Universe #6

History

Who's Who in the DC Universe (1990–1992) was the third major installment of the Who's Who line that Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Robert Greenberger had originally created, with the loose-leaf format itself devised by editor Michael Eury, who also edited issue #6. The 1990 series departed from the strict A-to-Z structure of its predecessors, freeing each issue from alphabetical constraints and allowing the editorial team to respond more nimbly to ongoing continuity changes — a deliberate evolution the Firestorm Fan blog noted made entries feel more timely. Issue #6 shipped on November 29, 1990, with a January 1991 cover date, and assembled an unusually large creative roster: writers including Peter Sanderson, Mark Waid, Tom and Mary Bierbaum, Karl Kesel, Roger Stern, and Joey Cavalieri, alongside artists such as Andy Kubert, Jerry Ordway, John Byrne, Joe Staton, Bart Sears, Dick Giordano, Matt Wagner, and Dan Jurgens. The series was later noted by multiple sources to be somewhat less comprehensive than earlier Who's Who volumes, but compensated with a livelier editorial personality, including entries written in-character elsewhere in the run.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Cover-dated January 1991; on-sale November 29, 1990; published as issue #6 of a 16-issue loose-leaf limited series (August 1990–February 1992).
• Cover pencilled by Graham Nolan, depicting Hawkman in an action pose; the Hawkman entry inside was also drawn by Graham Nolan.
• Contains approximately 25 character and location entries spanning Adam Strange through Wildcat II (Yolanda Montez), including Captain Atom, Crazy Jane, Dolphin, Dove (Dawn Granger), Gangbuster, Glorious Godfrey & Amazing Grace, Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kanjar Ro, Mr. Bones, Mr. Nebula & Scarlet Skier, Northwind, Power Girl, Royal Flush Gang, Sarge Steel, Snapper Carr, and the Conglomerate.
• Includes a bonus fold-out poster entry for the Fortress of Solitude, illustrated by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding — one of several issues in the series to feature a fold-out location map or poster.
• The Crazy Jane entry (art by Richard Case and Mark McKenna) documents one of Grant Morrison's signature Doom Patrol creations at the height of that run's cultural prominence.
• The Huntress entry (art by Joe Staton and Bob Smith) profiles the post-Crisis Helena Bertinelli incarnation, created by Joey Cavalieri and Joe Staton in Huntress #1 (April 1989), consolidating her biography and distinguishing her from the pre-Crisis Helena Wayne version eliminated by Crisis on Infinite Earths.
• Written by a large collaborative team including Peter Sanderson, Mark Waid, Tom and Mary Bierbaum, Karl Kesel, Barbara Kesel, Roger Stern, Robert Greenberger, Joey Cavalieri, Andy Mangels, and others; edited by Michael Eury.
• The full series, including this issue, was later collected in the hardcover Who's Who in the DC Universe Omnibus Vol. 2 (December 2022, DC), which also collected the Legion of Super-Heroes Who's Who and the 1993 Update issues.

Full credits

Key issues in Who's Who in the DC Universe