May the 4th Be With You!

Iconic. Inspiring. Timeless. Magical. Entertaining. Funny. Heart-breaking. Approachable.

I know I’m not alone in adoring Star Wars, especially today—May the Fourth. What a vast and rich world filled with incredible stories, characters, and adventure that never ceases to capture my imagination! And today is the day we celebrate this formidable universe.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have worked with the Star Wars properties, as Head of Marketing for LucasArts years ago and been able to relive my childhood with a more grown-up perspective. I learned more than I ever thought I would about Jawas, Jedi Knights, and Jabba the Hutt over the years. Now that I have a young son, I relish making up stories where he is the Padawan protagonist rescuing the Mon Calamari and continually impressing him with my mastery of arcane Star Wars trivia.

Having been exposed to the incredible passion of Star Wars fans firsthand, I wasn’t surprised that there were so many Star Wars-inspired creative projects on our Blurb bookshelves. Everything from great kid’s illustration magazines to many terrific photography books featuring characters and costumes and even a coloring book, but I had to share a few favorites.

Diario de Viltor Mosev y Neger Rilium
Jorge Villalonga Morales
10×8 ImageWrap Photo Book

So fun! Diario de Viltor Mosev y Neger Rilium is a photographic diary of two Imperial soldiers in life after the Death Star. Jorge Villalonga Morales is so thoughtful and clever in capturing a year of everyday life for these small action figures. Every photo is carefully curated, and this collection makes me smile.

World in My Eyes
Housemusic
10×8 Softcover, Dust Jacket, ImageWrap

While this book isn’t exclusively Star Wars-focused, the homage it captures is brilliant. There is a beautiful exploration of lighting in San Francisco and New York City, many with Star Wars figures and legos included. I especially love the classic album covers done with a Star Wars twist.

I Still Have a Bad Feeling About This
Deon Blackwell, Robb Fladry, Adam Kitzerow, Vincent John Kral and James Reiman
7×7 Small Square

This book captures the work of five diverse artists who put together a Star Wars art exhibition. In their words, the show “both celebrated and critiqued the pop cultural phenomenon that shaped their childhood memories and contributed to the formation of the creative individuals they have become.”  I think that sums up the power of the Star Wars canon, and the impact it has on so many of us.

May the fourth be with you!

Liz is Blurb’s Chief Marketing Officer. She spent several years as Head of Marketing for LucasArts, George Lucas’ video game division. She met her husband in the Anakin Skywalker conference room, owns too many Star Wars costumes to count, and her favorite planet is Endor.