Woo Hoo!

The U.S. Postal Service has released the images of the upcoming Simpsons stamp issue. This strip of five stamps will be released on May 7th, with a First Day Cover ceremony being held that day at Fox Studios in Los Angeles, CA. They will be available in 20 stamp booklets as well as stamped cards. The Simpsons will be the first television show to get its own stamps while it the show is still in production.

While there may be some controversy about putting the first family of dysfunction on the postage, it is a definite fact that the Simpsons have a stamp collector among them. Bart Simpson revealed he was a philatelist in episode 92/1F09 in the fifth season. Both the creator of the show and its executive producer have approached their show’s latest honor in a typically Simpson-like manner. Matt Groening, Simpsons creator had this to say about the new stamps, “This is the biggest and most adhesive honor The Simpsons has ever received” and James L. Brooks, executive producer stated, “We are emotionally moved by the Postal Service selecting us rather than making the lazy choice of someone who has benefited society”.

The USPS is encouraging Americans to vote for their favorite character at www.usps.com/Simpsons. Voting will begin on April 9th and go through May 14th, 2009. The USPS is also giving away 25 Simpsons posters autographed by Matt Groening to visitors (over the age of 25) who sign up on the website.

This release is a fun and colorful set that should prove to be quite popular with young and old alike. I'm looking forward to adding the stamps and the First Day Cover to my collection.