Just getting the word out there that the Star Wars Poster Book is now available in book stores, and a couple months ahead of schedule, at that.

Steve Sansweet and I were pleased to have had the opportunity to document the histories of some of the most well-known images in movie poster history, and to showcase some rare artwork that perhaps few have ever seen. It's been called an art book, but it's also a history book - many of the artists we interviewed had insightful stories about their craft, recounting the inspirations and restrictions they encountered while developing this iconic imagery. In the end, I hope fans and collectors will enjoy the ride. I know we did.

A personal goal of mine was to treat the subject of Star Wars posters in much the same way Steve had for his Concept to Screen book in 1992. To me, what made that arguably the most significant book in the Star Wars collecting hobby was its treatment of collectibles as artifacts - in addition to being the cool items we own and display, they also have interesting stories to tell, which I felt was a vital component missing from many of the price guides populating the hobby today.

It never ceases to amaze me how often I'll come across a poster I've never seen - almost daily, in fact. Since our content deadline in March, I've already cataloged over 300 new posters to add to our ever-expanding checklist, which, I believe, is the most comprehensive list published to date. I'm sure I'll be learning pretty quickly from fans how many posters we'd missed, which makes the hunt for new discoveries all the more exciting.

In any case, get the book, enjoy it, and forgive the shameless use of my blog to plug it. And tell us what you think - afterall, we hope to have the opportunity to do a reprint at some point in the future, and would like to know how we can improve it.

Oh, and if you haven't already checked it out, watch for my three-part series in Insider #s 84, 85, and 86, where I showcase some of the concept artwork used to develop many of these classic Star Wars poster images.

Here's a link to StarWarsShop's signed exclusive: http://shop.starwars.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=104112;category_id=301;pcid1=;pcid2=