American comic book artist (1920-1996). Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he started drawing when he was just a boy and so impressed his teachers that they gave him regular art projects to help him hone his talents.

Swan was drafted in 1940 and spent all of World War II in the US Army, where he worked for "Stars and Stripes." Upon returning to the United States, he was hired on what he originally considered to be a temporary basis (he thought comics were a passing fad) by DC Comics, where he worked on Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's "Boy Commandos." He soon moved on to other features, including "Tommy Tomorrow" and "Gangbusters."

As the years went by, Swan got occasional work drawing Superman stories (including spinoffs like Superboy and Jimmy Olsen) whenever the regular artists weren't available. By 1953, however, Swan was made a full-time Superman penciller, drawing several hundred stories and covers for the Man of Steel. He also drew the Superman newspaper comic strip 'til its cancellation in 1964.

Swan's depiction of Big Blue quickly became the best-known among comics fans. He toned down the musculature of Wayne Boring's Supes and made him even more clean-cut. Swan's Superman was so popular and refreshing that his style was quickly adopted by other DC artists, which meant that, for good or ill, many of DC's books ended up looking very similar for much of the Silver Age.

Swan continued to draw Superman regularly until 1985 when he was unceremoniously kicked off his Superman books. His last work as the regular Superman artist was the acclaimed "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" which was written by Alan Moore. He worked on a few scattered DC books, including the occasional illustration for Superman books and a limited Aquaman series. He also drew some illustrations for, of all things, "Penthouse Comix" in the mid-1990s. After retiring, he made a few appearances at comic book conventions to meet his fans before dying at the age of 76.

Research from http://www.comic-art.com/bios-1/swan0001.htm

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.