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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Who's Who: Atlantis - 1985

Not too long after starting the Shrine, I posted all the Who's Who entries for the various Aqua-characters. Who's Who was, and remains, one of my all-time favorite comic book series--they were just so much fun, and the presentation (Flexographic printing aside) was top-notch.

For whatever reason, I never posted this piece, from the very first issue of Who's Who (the one that featured Aquaman, Aqualad, and Aquagirl)--a two-page shot of Atlantis, by the late great Marshall Rogers! (click the graphic to see a larger version)

Its kind of interesting(?), when you think about it--Atlantis gets a listing, but other major locations of the DCU--Metropolis, Gotham, etc.--did not. What better, if accidental, way to signify how large a part of the DCU Aquaman occupies?


I remember at the time being kind of annoyed that there was no listing of when Atlantis first appeared in the DCU. I've tried to look it up on the aptly-named Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics site, but the results were inconclusive. It'd be natural to think it debuted in some Aquaman comic, but I'd say there's a more than fair chance that Superman or Wonder Woman had an Atlantis-based adventure some time before that.

So to that end I'm launching a little mini-contest: for those of who so inclined, try and find Atlantis' very first appearance in a DC comic, and send me the name and issue # of that comic. You don't need to send the cover, or a page from the story; simply the name and number will do.

Once we've determined the correct answer, the winner will receive this minty-fresh copy of Brightest Day #17, featuring the HTF Aquaman variant cover, courtesy F.O.A.M.er Joe Slab:
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Get going, detail-obsessed Aqua-Fans!

11 comments:

David J. Cutler said...

I really thought it appeared in Adventure Comics #260 along with his revised origin. If not that, I guess I'm out of the running!

marveldcfan said...

Adventure Comics #260 in the story "How Aquaman got his powers" in 1959

Wings1295 said...

Hope you get a definitive answer! Cool Who's Who, I had never seen that spread before.

Siskoid said...

The loose leaf version of Who's Who's cousin made for the DC Heroes RPG lists all appearances of Atlantis to date both pre and post-Crisis, the first being Adventure Comics #230, but this appears to be a typo. #260 is the correct answer, with the next appearances being in 269, 270, 276 and 278.

Dr. Bobb said...

Surely it must be Wonder Woman (first series) #8, 1944, "Wonder Woman and the Adventures of the Undersea Amazons". First appearance of Queen Clea who tries to conquer Atlantis. Also first appearance of Steve Trevor in a loincloth, buttcheeks and all.

Orly De Gaulle said...

Teenage Bamm-Bamm is right. Wonder Woman v1 #8, is Atlantis' first appearance pre-dating Adv Comics by 15 years, but if you are only counting a world where Aquaman is part of that Atlantean mythology, then it's Adventure Comics #260. I wish I had gotten to this earlier. That's a pretty awesome picture.

rob! said...

Teenage Bamm-Bamm: Please send me an email in the next few days so I can give you proper credit when I do a follow-up post!



This question was a tad more complicated than I first guessed, so everyone keep an eye out for a "results" post!

r duncan said...

Wow. Wonder Woman beat the Man of Steel by three years. His first visit to Atlantis was in 1947 (World's Finest 29) according to the Great Superman Book.

Joseph Brian Scott said...

I remember that entry from Who's Who ... I was always tickled by the giant octopus doing a faceplant on the ocean floor. Maybe it was drunk.

Aaron said...

BTW: on the cover of Brightest Day #17... A trident has 3 prongs. Trident literally means "three teeth". So, that thing Aquaman is charging us with is presumably some sort of quintdent??

DCIndexer said...

The actual answer is Action Comics #18 - Nov, 1939. A Zatara story entitled - "The Atlantis Mystery". http://www.dcindexes.com/database/story-details.php?storyid=3847