During the 1940s and 1950s, Alvin Schwartz (1916-2011) authored Superman and Batman comics, as well as a variety of other comic book titles. He wrote two philosophical novels, one of which, The Blowtop, was dubbed America's first conscious existentialist fiction by the New York Times. He also created screenplays and docu-dramas and was a recipient of the renowned Canada Council Horizons grant.