One of my favorite art-books is Curt Sawn: A Life in Comics by Eddy Zeno.

It's just a lot of art in the side bars with various writers and artists talking about Mr. Swan. In the summary he is even refered to as the "Norman Rockwell" of comics. That may not sound like praise to some artists but to me it means that he was able to put a sense of "good nature" into his art work and had tendency to create a classical, iconic, even definitive "model version" of a character not unlike Mr. Romita Sr. did for Spider-Man after Ditko left or Mr. Adams did with his New Look Batman or Mr. Sprang did with his "classic" Batman and Robin. He was one of the greats.

Somehow I'd like to see Mr. Swan's take on The Mighty Thor(Marvel character). Not just Thor but Asgard, SIf, Loki, Heimdall, Odin, Surtur, Ymir...y'know...the trappings. But unfortunatley it is not to be.

"Hasn't the success of Astro City proved that their is a market for traditional
super-hero stories? "

 Astro City is what got me to start reading comics again, I was thrilled. I thought, "Comics are gonna be great again!"

 Man, was I dissapointed when Identity crisis came out...

The thing with Astro City is that it really isn't a traditional superhero comic. It's a comic about what it would be like to live in a traditional superhero universe, from tons of different perspectives. It's a great series, and I highly recommend it, but it's not exactly a classic comic. Also, if you're allergic to pastiche, you might want to stay away from Astro City. Not that Astro City only uses pastiche characters, or that it uses them badly.

If your Friendly Local Comic Shop has a copy of the "Astro City Visitor's Guide" I'd recommend picking it up as it's a nice primer to Astro City.

Ok, I'm in. As long as it's "classic", in terms of being an enjoyable read (i.e., I won't feel depressed, or somehow cheated by the experience), that's what matters. And I don't mind a pastiche, or analagous characters at all, as long as they're done well.

I'm finally reading Mark Gruenwald's run on Captain America straight through for the first time, for an idea of what I currently think of as a Fun Read.

Btw, issue 324 has a letter from some guy named Dave Goyer (of Ann Arbor, Mi...). Jeez, I miss letters pages... anyway, off to the LCS for some Astro City~ !

How does it work in the industry with writers/artists? In terms of, say, Busiek working with Byrne on some Astro City thing. Do these guys seek each other out through agents, or are they approached by the companies themselves?

ASTRO CITY has remained brilliant. TARNISHED ANGEL is, of course, my favorite, as loving a tribute to Robert Mitchum and film noir as you will ever see, but completely filtered through the world of Astro City.

Btw, issue 324 has a letter from some guy named Dave Goyer (of Ann Arbor, Mi...). Jeez, I miss letters pages... 

Especially from a distance. I opened an early FF at random the other day, and read a letter from some Steve Gerber.

IMP.

Yer right, especially from a distance. I mean, I realize (now) that editors chose the letters they wanted in order to further their own agendas, but that doesn't change it for me. 'Cause in the old days, when my favorite artist on a given title was absent for an issue or two, I'd start scanning the editor's replies first, looking for the ol' "we're glad you like ?'s pencils, but unfortunately issue 32 was his last. Join us in welcoming aboard... "

And because I was totally insulated from any contact with any other fans, the letter hacks became my pals in absentia. Even today, when I buy a "new" old back issue, I still look for Hurricane, or T.M. or Melissa Page, etc.