LEGENDARY LITERARY LEGERDEMAIN

ITEM! Well what can I say Frantic Ones? Last night was a howlin’ hoot! For those of you living under a rock, in a cave, outside outer Mongolia, or otherwise without Interweb access, Yours Truly was honored with the first-ever New York Comics Legends Award last night right in Times Square (at the Virgin Megastore, natch.) It was humbling, it was humorous, and most of all it was well-deserved! But in all the rollicking rush of Keeping the Flame burning the last few days, I forgot to prepare a proper thank you speech.

First and foremost, I want to thank all of you Merry Marvelites without whom none of this would have been possible. Without your delirious and demented devotion to all things Marvel, I wouldn’t be where I am today, which let’s face it, is pretty sweet. Somebody asked me last night how you become a comics legend, and I told ‘em, “You don’t die and you sign your name to everything!”

For some reason last night I had an incredible sense of deja vu. Peter David got me started with his way-back-whens. In the middle of things I flashed back to the manic Marvel Comic Book Convention of 1975. There I was up on stage enthralling the masses with the astonishing announcement that Jack “King” Kirby was returning to the fold, when in walked the man himself. Good ol’ Jolly Jack... he totally upstaged me to rapturous rounds of rapid applause. I half expected him to waltz in last night and give me one of his patented, cigar-smoke-laden, “Get off your desk and take it like a man, Lee.” lines. I really miss that guy somedays.

In his place all I got was Joe “The Kid” Queseda trying his best to be funny at the old man’s expense. One more crack about playing with my jewels and I’m gonna show that young man a side of Sgt. Stanley Lieber, WWII vet, that I guarantee he won’t much like. Or I might just sue Marvel again. You never can tell just what we amorous AARPers are gonna do next. That’s our advantage! Just ask Joltin’ Joe Simon.

But seriously, where would I be today without the readers, writers, pencilers, inkers and most importantly, all of the little people (in other words, the lawyers)? Probably still saving my birth name for when I really get famous. The best is yet to come, pilgrims!

Excelsior!

Smiley