Star Wars Postage Stamps Review

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the premiere of Star Wars (now known as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), the United States Postal Service created a beautifully-designed 15-stamp set of commemorative postage stamps featuring major characters from both the beloved Classic Trilogy and the somewhat less-beloved Prequels. 

 Released in March of 2007, the commemorative stamps are arranged so they resemble a miniature poster, sort of a Star Wars-themed mosaic dominated by a portrait of Lord Darth Vader (whose helmeted breath mask is in one cleverly placed stamp), with other characters and a few iconic starships arrayed in a pyramid-like arrangement.

 If you recognize the style of artwork used to depict Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, a dueling Anakin Skywalker vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia and R2-D2, C-3PO, Boba Fett, Darth Maul, and various other heroes and Imperial villains, it's because artist Drew Struzan has been doing Lucasfilm-related projects for over 15 years.  Struzan not only did the redesigned posters for 1997's 20th Anniversary Special Edition of the Classic Trilogy, but his distinctive style has been used in the Prequel Trilogy's "one-sheet" movie posters, as well as many of the covers for novels set in the Star Wars galaxy.

Of course, the stamps in the collection are "legitimate" first-class postage, and each one bears the legend USA and the 41 cent price off to one side.  Viewed up close, these markings are visible, but viewed from a distance, the stamps appear almost perfectly seamless, forming, as I said earlier, a mini-poster that can be framed and kept as a beautiful keepsake.

 The stamps in the commemorative sheet depict the following characters and vehicles:

 Luke Skywalker

 Han Solo and Chewbacca

 Princess Leia Organa with R2-D2

 C-3PO

Yoda

 Queen Padmé Amidala

 Obi-Wan Kenobi as seen in the Classic Trilogy

 Anakin Skywalker dueling Obi-Wan Kenobi

 Darth Vader

Emperor Palpatine

Darth Maul

 Imperial stormtroopers

 Boba Fett

 The Millennium Falcon

A Rebel  X-wing fighter

 The backdrop also includes elements of a space battle, with a Star Destroyer, the unfinished second Death Star, and Imperial TIE fighters scattered strategically throughout the "poster."  The famous Star Wars logo is also featured prominently in gleaming gold text.

All in all, this commemorative sheet is the perfect gift for stamp collectors and fans of George Lucas's space-fantasy saga set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...."

Also available is a sheet of the Yoda stamp; the Postal Service conducted a "favorite character" poll, and the diminutive Jedi Master was declared the winner.