Comic book legend Stan Lee is to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Visual Effects Society (VES) next year.

The beloved co-creator of Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and X-Men will follow in the footsteps of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron, who have all previously been handed the trophy.

VES chairman Jeffrey Okun announced the honor on Tuesday, saying, "Stan Lee's imagination has created a completely original and profitable niche in the entertainment world and has allowed visual effects to flex its muscle in service to it."

Lee will pick up the prize at the VES Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on February 7th.