Legendary comic book writer and creator Stan Lee will be a special guest of New York Comic Con this year.
He will appear on several panels, as well as receive the first-ever New York Comics Legend Award at a special VIP party at the Virgin Megastore in New York City's Times Square.
Celebrated by millions of fans worldwide for building Marvel into a comics and motion picture powerhouse, Lee is revered for co-creating Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer, and the Incredible Hulk, among other original and wildly popular characters.
New York Comic Con, the biggest and most exciting popular culture event on the East Coast, will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Center, April 18-20, 2008.
"This is a double whammy for us," notes Lance Fensterman, Show Manager for NYCC. "First, we get to have the extreme privilege of hosting Stan Lee at our show, and second, we have the distinct honor of awarding him our first-ever New York Comics Legend Award, which we have created to honor New York City's greatest contributors to comic books and to New York life. I can't possibly think of anyone more suited to be the first recipient of this award than Stan Lee. He has done so much through the years for both comics and for New York City."
The reception where Lee will receive his New York Comics Legend Award will take place on Thursday, April 17 at 8 p.m. at the Virgin Megastore, 1540 Broadway, in the heart of Times Square in New York City.
A limited number of tickets will be made available to fans starting March 28 at www.nycomiccon.com.
This reception, which will include a selection of famous and traditional New York City fare, will center on the presentation of the New York Comics Legend Award, followed by comments by Lee, as well as brief comments by select friends and colleagues.
The inimitable Lee, whose creative genius propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in today's market place, is doing it all over again with his newly founded company POW! Entertainment Inc., (POWN).
Under the umbrella of POW!, Lee is creating at an unprecedented rate, and a whole new cast of contemporary Stan Lee Originals are just beginning.
"Even though Los Angeles has been my play pen for the past few decades, I'll always consider New York my home town," Lee said in a statement. "It's the beautiful city where I was born (a beautiful baby!) grew up (beautifully!), got married to my beautiful wife and had my beautiful daughter. (When I find an adjective I like, I stick with it!)"
"So, whenever I can wheedle an opportunity to return to the greatest city in the world, it's an indescribable thrill for me," he said. "And, to make it even more fabulous, it gives me the chance to meet old friends -- artists, writers, editors, fans, all sorts of terrific people who speak the same language -- the language of creativity. Hey, what I'm trying to say is -- I can't wait to see ya! Excelsior! Your Man Stan"
The New York Comics Legend Award will be given to one recipient each year. Each recipient must have made a major contribution to the advancement of comics, either through achievement in art or business.
They will have had to have made a significant contribution to the civic life in New York either through charity, education, public service or by advancing the image of New York City through direct involvement with New York City causes, or through positive depiction of the city and its culture within their body of work. They must each have lived in New York City for a minimum number of years in order to be eligible for the award.
