Editing Curt Swan (section)

===Superman===
[[File:Adventure296.png|thumb|left|200px|''[[Adventure Comics]]'' #296 (May 1962), cover art by Swan, inks by [[George Klein (comics)|George Klein]]]]
Initially, Swan drew many different features, including "[[Tommy Tomorrow]]" and "[[Gangbusters]]",<ref name="GCD" /> but slowly he began gravitating towards the [[Superman]] line of books. His first job pencilling the iconic character was for ''[[Superman (comic book)|Superman]]'' #51 (March–April 1948).<ref name="Gravett">{{cite web |url= http://www.paulgravett.com/index.php/articles/article/curt_swan/|title= Curt Swan: A Superman Walked Among Us|first= Paul|last= Gravett|author-link = Paul Gravett|year= 2002|publisher= Comic Book Marketplace |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120414122242/http://www.paulgravett.com/index.php/articles/article/curt_swan|archive-date= April 14, 2012|url-status= live|access-date= March 28, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/swan_curt.htm|title= Curt Swan|year= 2012|publisher= [[Lambiek|Lambiek Comiclopedia]]|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120921224905/http://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/swan_curt.htm|archive-date= September 21, 2012|url-status= live}}</ref> Many comics of the 1940s and 1950s lacked contributor credits, but research shows that Swan began pencilling the ''[[Superboy (comic book)|Superboy]]'' series with its fifth issue in 1949.<ref>Zeno "The First Fifteen Years", p. 13</ref> He drew the first comics meeting of Superman and [[Batman]] in ''Superman'' #76 (May–June 1952).<ref>{{cite book|last= Manning|first= Matthew K.|last2=Dougall|first2=Alastair, ed.|chapter= 1950s|title= Batman: A Visual History|publisher= [[Dorling Kindersley]]|year= 2014|location= London, United Kingdom|page= 50|isbn= 978-1465424563|quote= Batman and Superman finally came face-to-face in this landmark issue that teamed the Dark Knight Detective with the Man of Steel for the very first time in print ... thanks to writer Edmond Hamilton and iconic Superman artist Curt Swan.}}</ref> The two heroes began teaming on a regular basis in ''[[World's Finest Comics]]'' #71 (July–August 1954) in a story which was also drawn by Swan.<ref>Manning "1950s" in Dougall, p. 54: "This issue combined the two super heroes in a new format of 36 pages. The cover story was dedicated to Superman and Batman's adventure, a tale written by Alvin Schwartz and penciled by Curt Swan."</ref> Swan always felt that his breakthrough came when he was assigned the art duties on ''[[Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen]]'', in 1954.<ref name="ReferenceA">Zeno "The First Fifteen Years", p. 16</ref>

Swan didn't take to line editor [[Mort Weisinger]]'s controlling style. Swan discussed this period in an interview: "I was getting terrible migraine headaches and had these verbal battles with Mort. So it was emotional, physical. It just drained me and I thought I'd better get out of here before I go whacko." After leaving comics for the advertising world in 1951, Swan soon returned, for DC's higher paychecks. And as biographer Eddy Zeno notes, "The headaches went away after [Swan] gained Weisinger's respect by standing up to him."<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Around 1954, Swan unsuccessfully pitched an original [[comic strip]] for newspaper syndication. Called ''Yellow Hair'', it was about a blond boy raised by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]s.<ref>Zeno, p. 158</ref> A couple of years later, starting with the episode of June 18, 1956, Swan drew the ''Superman'' daily newspaper [[Superman (comic strip)|comic strip]], which he continued on until November 12, 1960.<ref>Zeno "Swan and the Superman Newspaper Strip", p. 46</ref>

In the view of comics historian [[Les Daniels]], Swan became the definitive artist of Superman in the early 1960s with a "new look" to the character that replaced [[Wayne Boring]]'s version.<ref>{{cite book|last = Daniels|first = Les|author-link = Les Daniels|chapter= The Superman Family Strength in Numbers|title = DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes|publisher = [[Little, Brown and Company|Bulfinch Press]]|year = 1995|location= New York, New York|page = 118|isbn = 0821220764|quote= By 1961, Swan's new look would replace Wayne Boring's patriarchal version. Swan's Superman became definitive, and ultimately he would draw, as he says, 'more Superman stories than anybody else.'}}</ref> The [[Composite Superman]] was co-created by Swan and [[Edmond Hamilton]] in ''World's Finest Comics'' #142 (June 1964).<ref>[[Matt Forbeck|Forbeck, Matt]] "1960s" in Dougall, p. 84: "In this tale from Edmond Hamilton and Curt Swan, an angry janitor received the powers of the entire Legion of Super-Heroes."</ref> Swan and writer [[Jim Shooter]] crafted the story "Superman's Race with the Flash!" in ''Superman'' #199 (August 1967) which featured the first race between the [[Barry Allen|Flash]] and Superman, two characters known for their [[Speedster (fiction)|super-speed powers]].<ref>{{cite book|last=McAvennie|first= Michael|last2=Dolan|first2=Hannah, ed.|chapter= 1960s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page= 124 |quote = Since the dawn of comics' Silver Age, readers have asked 'Who's faster: Superman or the Flash?' Writer Jim Shooter and artist Curt Swan tried answering that question when the Man of Steel and the Fastest Man Alive agreed to the U.N.'s request to race each other for charity.}}</ref> Over the years, Swan was a remarkably consistent and prolific artist, often illustrating two or more titles per month. Swan remained as artist of ''Superman'' when [[Julius Schwartz]] became the editor of the title with issue #233 (January 1971), and writer [[Denny O'Neil]] streamlined the Superman mythos, starting with the elimination of [[Kryptonite]].<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 144 "New editor Julius Schwartz, new scripter Denny O'Neil, and regular artist Curt Swan removed the Man of Steel's greatest weakness from the face of the Earth."</ref> Among Swan's contributions to the Superman mythos, he and writer [[Cary Bates]] co-created the [[supervillain]]s [[Terra-Man]]<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 150: "Scripter Cary Bates and artist Curt Swan chose an inopportune time for Superman to meet Terra-Man, a [[Spaghetti Western|Spaghetti Western-garbed]] menace who rode a winged horse and wielded lethal alien weaponry."</ref> and the 1970s version of the [[Toyman#Jack Nimball|Toyman]]<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 158: "Writer Cary Bates and artist Curt Swan gave Superman all the 'fun' he could handle with the savvy new Toyman in ''Action Comics'' #432."</ref> as well as the [[superhero]] [[Vartox]].<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 161: "Fans of John Boorman's 1974 sci-fi film ''Zardoz'', starring Sean Connery in revealing red spandex, could appreciate writer Cary Bates and artist Curt Swan's inspiration for Vartox of Valeron."</ref> Writer [[Martin Pasko]] and Swan created the [[Carl Draper|Master Jailer]] character in ''Superman'' #331 (January 1979).<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 180: "Writer Martin Pasko and artist Curt Swan introduced ... the Master Jailer."</ref>