The Text of my Speech at the Julie Awards

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

I had the honor of being the presenter of the Julie Award at the Dragon*Con banquet Saturday night to Stan Lee. Below is the text of my speech:

The recipient of this year’s Julie award is the single most—not only deserving—but appropriate winner in the award’s history since Julie himself. Because one of Julie’s greatest achievements during his stint as an editor at DC Comics was to spearhead the revival of Flash, Green Lantern, and a host of other heroes for the modern age.

But this year’s recipient took it to the next level, reinventing the very concept of superheroes by returning to the mythic archetype of the hero who had deep personality flaws. His creations didn’t have arbitrary weaknesses like green rocks or random colors. Instead they had major personality problems. They were prone to injuries, both physical and emotional. They got into trouble because of family conflicts. Even when they won, they still lost. Nowadays we have a name for them—the New York Mets—but, back in the 1960s, they were called the Marvel Universe of superheroes. And tonight’s winner, in conjunction with some of the greatest artists in the history of the industry, was responsible for creating them.

He pioneered the practice of putting the creator names—with his the most prominent—right up front in the pages of Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk and countless others. This practice was held in such low regard by the mostly anonymous DC creators that they contemptuously referred to him as Stan Bragg. But before you knew it—as was so common when he was paving the way—others started following suit. As a result of this ground-breaking policy of creative credit, now in 2010, fans on the Internet know exactly who to bìŧçh about when they hate a story. So thanks for nothing, smart guy.

His first comic book story was published in May 1941 and was entitled, “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge.” You’ll never guess what happened in it. Kinda telegraphed the end there, didn’t ‘cha. In a career spanning over seventy years and still going strong, he has written—at last count—a bazillion comics. He brought a chatty, friendly persona to the Bullpen Bulletins pages that gave the fans a feeling of having a personal connection to the company. He became the public face of Marvel and the good-will ambassador of an entire industry. And in writing a three part story about the dangers of drug use that he then published in Amazing Spider-Man over the objections of the Comics Code Authority, he effectively told the Comics Code he refused to respect their authority, setting them on the road to eventual irrelevancy, for which all comics writers are eternally grateful.

He eventually parted company with Marvel and went on to form Purveyors of Wonder Entertainment, or simply POW. He has been omnipresent, daring to ask questions such as (in a Stan voice) “Who Wants to Be a Superhero” and “Who Wants to see a Superhero stripper?” (For those at home who want to do their own Stan impression, you just combine John Wayne, Maxwell Smart and Misterrogers. “Hello, true believers, welcome to my neighborhood!” ) He has appeared in countless television shows, lending his enthusiastic vocal tones to the proceedings or doing cameos in movies based on Marvel properties and demonstrating his range as a thespian. Who can forget his dramatic turns as guy who pulled a little girl from falling debris in Spider-Man…or guy who pulled someone else from danger in Spider-Man II…and, for a change of pace, guy who was stopped from walking in front of a car by a young Matt Murdock in Daredevil. Of course after he SAW Daredevil, he probably wished the kid hadn’t stopped him from walking in front of—well, anyway…

He also appeared as himself in such varied shows and films as “The Simpsons,” “Mallrats,” “Comic Book: The Movie,” and “the Big Bang Theory.” He is the subject of the forthcoming documentary film, “With Great Power.” He has continued to remain an active and vital creator of various superhero properties. He wrote a political fumetti book, “Election Daze: What Are They Really Saying?” I eagerly look forward to the sequel, “Fox News: What the Hëll are they talking about?” He is one of the giants upon whose shoulders the rest of us have spent our lives standing. He was inducted into both the Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame. He is the reason that I have a career. He is also the reason that I sat through Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement because I wanted to see him hitting on Julie Andrews using Three Stooges routines. He singlehandedly stopped the Gulf oil leak by cramming it full of copies of “Blackest Night.” He put the bop in the bop sha bop sha bop, the ram in the ramma lamma ding dong, and he, unh, he wrote the book of love. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Dragon*Con and the Julie Awards—and I wanna tell you that I have been waiting years for the opportunity to say this—Peter David Presents this year’s Julie Award Winner, Stan The Man Lee!

26 comments on “The Text of my Speech at the Julie Awards”

  1. Nice speech Peter. DragonCon is starting to look like the next big Con I should try and hit up (so far I’ve only been to the Chicago duo, one of which I got to meet you and see your daughter doing some impressive commissions).

  2. “For those at home who want to do their own Stan impression, you just combine John Wayne, Maxwell Smart and Misterrogers.”
    .
    Or, in other words, George Bush Sr. and Maxwell Smart.

    1. I think it’s this list (from the 2009 Dragon*Con Program Book)
      .
      .
      1998 : Ray Bradbury
      1998 : Julius Schwartz
      1999 : Anne McCaffrey
      1999 : Will Eisner
      2000 : Yoshitako Amano
      2000 : Neil Gaiman
      2001 : Harlan Ellison
      2001 : Alice Cooper
      2002 : Carmine Infantino
      2002 : Paul Kantner
      2003 : Jim Steranko
      2004 : Forrest J. Ackerman
      2004 : Denny O’Neil
      2005 : Joss Whedon
      2006 : Paul Dini
      2007 : Peter David
      2008 : Mickey Dolenz
      2009 : Leonard Nimoy
      2010 : Stan Lee
      .
      .

      2. I found a list purportedly from Dragon*Con but it listed several winners I thought unlikely to be on an awards list from a comics & SF show, including Marty Balin and Chick Corea, with anywhere from one to three winners in a given year. Certainly it’s possible, but I was curious if there has been a confirmed list posted anywhere.

  4. I love, “He put the bop in the bop sha bop sha bop, the ram in the ramma lamma ding dong, and he, unh, he wrote the book of love.”

    I’m sure he was smiling or laughing at that, but I would have still liked to have seen his face. Lovely speech. It made me feel more ready to face my crappy day–to think about AwesomeWriter!PAD and AwesomeEverything!Stan Lee. Thank you.

  5. Great speech, PAD. I’m sure you weren’t joking about what an honor it was.

    BTW, I would like to see Stan at a convention. Does anyone know how long he spends meeting fans? What are the odds of meeting him? I would hate to wait in a five hour line only to find out he was there for an hour. Would I be better off settling for seeing him at a panel?

    1. Ed, Stan Lee attended the Toronto Fan Expo two weeks ago and was in attendance for the entire three days. Everyone who was willing to pay and stand in line got to see him and get his autograph. His very expensive autograph. But seeing him speak in the panel was, in my opinion, much better than just getting an autograph. A whole hour, listening to him talk – he’s such a legend with so many great stories!

  6. Forgive my ignorance, but are the Julie Awards specifically to recognize work in comics or are they more all-encompassing? (And I assume they are named for Julie Schwartz, though the fact that he was the SECOND winner could make me wrong about that.) But yeah, the Mickey Dolenz and Leonard Nimoy thing sort of threw me off.

    1. According to the Dragon*Con report, the Julie Award “is bestowed for universal achievement spanning multiple genres.” All that is necessary for a winner is that he or she be successful in more than one field.
      .
      I think it also helps if a possible contender shows up at Dragon*Con that year.

    2. Well Leonard has had quite a career in theater and film behind the scenes. Also his photography has won major awards and caused controversy. He is multi-talented.

  7. ” As a result of this ground-breaking policy of creative credit, now in 2010, fans on the Internet know exactly who to bìŧçh about when they hate a story. So thanks for nothing, smart guy.”
    .
    I probably laughed way too loudly at that.

    1. The problem is that Mickey Dolenz other works are not well known in the US. Most of it has.been in the UK.

      1. really kathleen? I’m not sure if you are busting on me, or you’re serious. Now you’re forcing me to do some internet research! 🙂

      2. Now you’re forcing me to do some internet research!
        .
        And I hear that’s the most reliable kind of research!

  9. Micky Dolenz is one of the greatest singers ever. This Julie award simply makes up for all the Grammys he should’ve won but never did.
    (He also wrote and directed the final Monkees episode. The really weird one that actually managed to include some very blatant drug jokes.)

    1. I was always a Mike Nesmith fan myself but Micky was right up there. The Monkees don’t get the respect they deserve. They were four very talented individuals who answered an ad in Variety for a TV show. Mike had toured clubs in Texas as Michael Blessed and wrote Linda Ronstadt’s first hit: Different Drum. Peter Tork played folk music in Greenwich Village and was proficient on multiple instruments. His friend, Stephen Stills auditioned for the show and was turned down. Davy Jones was an accomplished Broadway singer/actor and Micky had been the star in the series Circus Boy.

      1. Nesmith is a better songwriter and musician, don’t get me wrong. Dolenz is just a better singer, that’s all.

      1. No, no, no. With all due respect, Mr. David, a “typo” is when you misspell something such as, say, Drakest Night. Rather, you misspoke (miswrote?).

        One of my staff once made a note on a document indicating that he had spotted a “Type O” mistake. I asked him if there were any type AB or A positive mistakes.

        And yes, I do know how you feel about the use of the phrase “with all due respect” but I mean it sincerely.

        Regards, The Rev

  11. A shout out to Mickey Dolenz for his great voice talents in The Tick (he was Arthur, and also, I believe, “The Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight”).

  12. No love for Mickey’s stellar voice acting in The Tick cartoon show?
    I mean, come on — Arthur…?… anyone?
    The Mignight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight…? anyone?

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