"Curt Swan also drew Mask for Marvel. Mask was licenced comic and based on a line of toys."

It was DC Comics that held the license.  Not M****l.

Taavi Suhonen wrote:"Didn't know Curt Swan drew M.A.S.K. It was one of my favorite comics as a kid and I remember liking the art a lot."

Now you know why.  Curt Swan was a rare master; he could draw anything any writer asked him to, and his pencils were an inker's dream (though some found their completeness in detail somewhat intimidating).  Perhaps our esteemed host would care to weigh in with his thoughts on Mr. Swan's exquisite pencils, as he is one of those fortunate individuals who had the privilege of applying the India ink over the man's graphite linework.  JB, sir?

Joe Hollon: Anyone notice that around the end of the 70s Curt Swan art
stopped looking like Curt Swan? Did DC decide his style was
not hip enough and assign him inkers that would "modernize"
his work or was he intentionally doing less detailed pencils?...

***********************

I think it was just that Murphy Anderson for some reason left and that is what you are referring to (?) more or less. In a Swedish interview Swan explained that there were less detailed drawings he from time to time had to do very quickly on demand. Sometimes he chose not to sign them "Swan" since he wasn't pleased. I don't want to get into more detail, afraid to misqoute, but it was an interview by a Swedish artist, Sture Hegerfors in the 70's and this was came out of the interview.

To Veli: Satellitforlaget had nothing to do with Marvel or DC and whatever. Recall that Superman was also under the label Satellitforlaget. They just moved some chairs across the street to an empty office more or less, that was what it was. Some of the confusion may come from the fact that "The Marvel Universe" and Marvel, Marvelklubben issue number XXX was also the label more or less, except the official Marvel logo that never appeared. They had their own Marvel Club logo looking like Spider-man, anyway Marvel was mentioned all over the place, but never DC. Then it was just Semic or, as later, that satellite logo.

It seems to me that Swan did an illo or two for the Marvel Handbook series -- I think Gladiator was his.

Most of Swan's later-period DC work was inked by people like Dave Hunt, Kurt Schaffenberger and the afore-mentioned Al Williamson, none of who were big on redrawing.  Williamson and Bob Oksner were my favorite Swan inkers, but in both cases, I preferred their work when the did their own pencilling, too.

During the 1970s, Julius Schwartz encouraged Swan to add more energy to his layouts, in contrast to the more sedate Weissenger approach that had gone before.  Joe Kubert provided some tips.

With all due respect to our host, whenever I think of Superman, it's always the Curt Swan-Murphy Anderson version that springs to mind first (I guess because that's the one I read growing up).  But when I've been thinking for a few seconds, I see George Reeves, then Christopher Reeve. This is not, mind you, an order of conscious preference, it's just what leaps (in a single bound) to my mind's eye when I hear the word "Superman". 

Dan Adkins did ink a few Swan issues, but I'm at work now and can't lay my hands on them (and, hell, even if I was home, my collection is in such spectacular disarray that I couldn't get to 'em, anyway).  Perhaps some organized soul out there might lend a hand (since the on-line listings I've occasionally referenced are usually somewhat innaccurate).

If I recall correctly, in an old interview Curt wished he had enough time to ink his own pencils, but felt it was more profitable to have others ink his pencils so he could spend that time penciling another book, instead. 

"Superman: the Earth Stealers" is an example of Swan not
really looking much like Swan to me....Ordway did his usual
"trick" to the pencils

What "tricks" might those be?