Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #4

History

Who's Who was conceived by Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Robert Greenberger as DC's answer to Marvel's Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and Wein served as sole editor for the series' first twelve issues. The editorial team, which also included researchers Peter Sanderson and E. Nelson Bridwell, worked from a comprehensive master list of characters, and Wein established a standing rule that a character's originating artist, if still alive and willing, received first refusal on the assignment. For issue #4 specifically, Robert Greenberger recruited the then-celebrated Rocketeer artist Dave Stevens at the 1984 San Diego Comic-Con to render the Golden Age (Earth-Two) Catwoman — one of several pieces Stevens contributed to the series, delivered as negatives rather than original artwork. The entire run was produced during what collectors and editors alike remember as the 'flexigraphic' period, when DC switched to plastic printing plates to reduce costs, resulting in print quality that many felt fell short of the art it was reproducing.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published June 1985 by DC Comics; cover by Paris Cullins and Dick Giordano; 36 pages.
• First use of the name 'Fawcett City' in print: the Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. entries in this issue established it as the Marvel Family's home, a name Marv Wolfman then used in-story in Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.
• The Captain Atom entry contains a notable continuity preview: his alter ego is listed as Nathaniel Christopher Adam — the name that would belong to his Post-Crisis incarnation — while the pre-Crisis character's name is Allen Adam.
• The Camelot 3000 entry, illustrated by Brian Bolland, was included under an editorial guideline that celebrated DC's 50th anniversary by incorporating out-of-continuity imprint series alongside mainline DC characters.
• The Golden Age (Earth-Two) Catwoman entry was illustrated by Dave Stevens — recruited at the 1984 San Diego Comic-Con — one of only a handful of mainstream Marvel/DC assignments the Rocketeer creator ever completed.
• Cheshire (Jade Nguyen) receives a full entry, illustrated by George Pérez and Romeo Tanghal, consolidating her profile as a DC villain following her introduction in the early 1980s Teen Titans comics.
• A documented editorial error appears in the Cadre entry: their first appearance is listed as Justice League of America #235 (February 1985), when it was actually issue #234 (January 1985).
• The entire issue was later collected in the Who's Who Omnibus Vol. 1 (2021, ISBN 978-1779505996).

Cast · 40 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe

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#7 1st appearance — Duke of Oil

Variants (2)