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Who’s Who – 1985

Welcome to WHO’S WHO WEEK here at FIRESTORM FAN! I’m breaking my own rules early on by posting five times this week.  Each day this week will feature a different Who’s Who entry about Firestorm.  Thursday and Friday’s content won’t actually be from Who’s Who, but similar reference material (like Secret Files or the DC Comics Encyclopedia).  Each Who’s Who post will cover a different incarnation of Firestorm.  I like to spread the love around to the various different match-heads.

As I’ve mentioned before, FIRESTORM FAN is not intended to be an all-knowing encyclopedic reference site. There are already several excellent Firestorm resources in my blogroll, so I don’t want to reinvent the wheel.  However, I was feeling that some explanation of the character’s history would be beneficial.  Then it occurred to me… publishing old Who’s Who entries would kill two birds with one stone!  The Who’s Who entries would provide encyclopedic information about Firestorm, while also showcasing previous Firestorm content.  Perfect!

Today’s post comes from Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #8 (October 1985).  This was the first Who’s Who series and featured the original Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond/Professor Martin Stein). It’s not clear who wrote this particular entry, but from the contents page we know it was one of the following people: Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Peter Sanderson, Paul Levitz, Gary Cohn, Mike W. Barr, or Todd Klein.  The art in the entry below is by Al Milgrom, co-creator of Firestorm and artist on Firestorm volume I.  Such a great iconic image of the character! This particular issue of Who’s Who was published around the same time as Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Man (volume II) #40, so information presented was current to that point.

If you are interested in reading the text, click the image for a larger version.

Below you will find the outstanding wraparound cover to this issue of Who’s Who by George Perez.  Both Firestorm and Firehawk are featured prominently on this cover.  Great job, George!

UPDATED: I stand corrected!  Rob from the Aquaman Shrine pointed out my error.  This cover was actually pencilled by Paris Cullins with inks by Dick Giordano.  There was no cover credit inside the comic itself, but I’ve verified Rob is correct at the Comic Book Database.  I was sure this was a Perez drawing, but now in hindsight I mistook Giordano’s inks for Perez’s pencils.  Sorry for any confusion.  Regardless, it’s still a beautiful piece!  My thanks to Rob for the assist!

Come back tomorrow for a look at the next incarnation of Firestorm!

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6 Comments

  1. Ed says:

    Very cool. I miss the early years of Firestorm. I sure would love to go back and read those old issues. But I was foolish when I included all those issues from when I sold my entire collection a few years back. Regret oozes from my pores.
    I went to my local comic book store this weekend and found that the only TPB of Firestorm is the recent Jason incarnation series. I know the original series isn’t really that old but I wish DC would come out with a Archived Editions of Firestorm.

  2. Kelson says:

    @Ed, I know what you mean. I sold off all my Transformers comics a few years ago, and I’ve found myself wishing I’d hung onto the Marvel Generation 2 series.

  3. rob! says:

    Hate to be a bringdown, but that cover is by Paris Cullins and Dick Giordano, not Perez.

    I was so glad they tapped Marvel-regular Al Milgrom to come back and do the Firestorm entry. I thought that was one of the coolest things about Who’s Who, was the choice of artists.

  4. Shag says:

    Holy Magroly! You’re right! I checked the Comic Book DB and it lists Paris Cullins as the penciller. There is no cover credit in the comic itself, so I just assumed it was Perez by the art style. In fact, I was SURE it was Perez. However, in hindsight I’ve seen Perez inked by Giordano so many times that I guess I mistook Giordano’s inks for Perez’s pencils. I have a real hard time seeing Cullins on this cover. It looks very different from his Blue Devil work around the same time. Also, Paris usually signs his name “Paris” somewhere, but I don’t see it here on the cover. Maybe that’s his tiny “P” on the bush under the name “Garguax”.

    Thanks for the info. Now I’m going to have to update the post!

    Shag

  5. David H. says:

    how cool! i used to have this issue and as irony would have it i just posted a few minutes ago to my Suicide Squad blog using the pages of another Who’s Who issue also.

  6. […] we’re going to feature Firestorm himself! Below is the entry drawn by co-creator Al Milgrom! We’ve featured it here previously on FIRESTORM FAN, but it’s worth checking out again! Click the image to […]

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