Nothing is more American than apple pie, baseball and... Star Wars! So as everyone prepares for their barbecues and fireworks displays, why not save a few bucks when ordering some Star Wars swag this weekend. Here's a roundup of some sales that have been announced:



Sideshow Collectibles is having a "Let Freedom Ring" sale for the holiday. There are several Star Wars items included:

• Captain Antilles 12-Inch Figure - 10% Off
• Obi-Wan Kenobi: General - Clone Wars 12-Inch Figure - %10 Off
• Endor Strike Force Bundle 12-Inch Figures - 10% Off
• Speeder Bike and Scout Trooper Premium Format Figure - 6% Off

To celebrate the 4th of July, Brian's Toys will be offering free domestic shipping by UPS Ground for orders over $50. This offer is good for in-stock orders shipped within the continental United States by July 5th, 2009. Most items in the store's inventory qualify for this offer. Master Replicas items and Hasbro FX do no qualify. Also, large items that incur "oversize" surcharges may not qualify.

To participate in this promotion, add $50 or more of in-stock merchanide to your shopping cart. When checking out, select UPS GROUND as your shipping method and enter the coupon code FREESHIP.

Click through for complete details and terms & conditions.



Urban Collector continues their 4th of July sale by offering an additional 10% off on all in stock items on their site. Use coupon code 0704sale to get the discount.



Not to be outdone, StarWarsShop.com is offering free economy ground shipping on all orders shipped from July 2nd - July 14th.



AFX is having a huge 4th of July Clearance Sale - with discounts ranging from 50%-80% off! There's a wide assortment of items on sale, including some fantastic deals on Star Wars merchandise.

Just as a reminder to all Star Wars fans, voting is currently open at Atom for you to cast your ballot in this year's Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge. There is currently about one week left to vote for which of the twenty-two finalists you believe is most deserving.

As in past years, this year's awards will be handed out at San Diego Comic-Con in mid-July, and highights will once again be feaured on Spike TV.

This year's crop of finalists encompasses a wide spectrum of projects - from animation to effects wizardry to parody. What project gets our staff's votes? Well, we don't want to influence the voting, but let's say there were many wide eyes when we watched "Star Wars in a Notebook!"

Rumors are swirling all over the internet that Lucasfilm has entered pre-production on the highly anticipated live-action Star Wars television series that is scheduled for a 2010 release. The Australian blog SciFi Pi apparently broke news of the prep work being done Down Under, with details including the participation of some high-end Australian writers working on the series.

Not to be outdone, io9 picked up on the story and mentioned that it could prominently feature the Fetts and be a Jedi-free series.

All initial signs and rumors point to the series being aimed at a bit more of an adult audience. Might Lucasfilm be looking to cater to the generation of now thirty and forty-somethings who first fell in love with the series back in the 1970's? While no official word has been released yet, having seen the massive popularity and critical acclaim of a very adult 'Battlestar Galactica' series, it seems like this is a strong possiblity. Stay tuned. This early information is certainly just the beginning of what is sure to be a well documented production.

ACME Archives, who among their many fine art licenses holds the Star Wars one from Lucasfilm Ltd., has announced the creation of a new private collectors club called ACME Athenaeum. The club has three tiers of membership:

• Collector - Free
• Prestige Collector - $20.00 Annual Free
• Marquee Collector - $45.00 Annual Fee

Each tier has its own member benefits, which obviously become more substantial the higher a collector goes on the ladder. Of particular note, with San Diego Comic-Con on the horizon in mid-July, both the Prestige and Marquee Collector tiers offer:

"An Acme Athenaeum Comic Con Badge which entitles the member to a 10% discount for the duration of the San Diego Comic Con Event (excluding Character Keys & Sketchplates)"

For the over one-hundred thousand collectors who plan on attending the event, that's certainly a perk that could immediately make the membership a valuable investment.

The main extra benefit between the Prestige and Marquee tiers is the inclusion of an unspecified "free fine art print".

The Pennsylvania Star Wars Collecting Society (PSWCS) is now offering a limited edition Obi-Wan Kenobi Challenge Coin with all proceeds benefitting Operaton Ward 57. Challenage coins, which are medallions of sorts, are very popular items in the military, with each different unit, division etc getting their own. They are often traded, collected and kept as treasured keepsakes.

This challenge coin, limited to 1000 pieces, features Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and has been created with the permission of Lucasfilm. It has been been selling quickly according to members of the PSWCS.

Operation Ward 57 (which refers to the "amputee" ward at Walter Reed Medical Center) benefits those service men and women who have sacrificed so dearly for our freedoms and liberties. The charity raises funds to supply recovering soldiers with electronic devices such as video game consoles and DVD players.

Please support this fantastic cause and click through to place your order. There is a limit of 3 challenge coins per person. Check with the PSWCS for ordering details.

Make sure to check our exclusive interview with Randy Stradley, Dark Horses Comics' VP of Publishing. In the interview Randy touches on almost all of their Star Wars comic lines, and he gives details about the much anticipated "Invasion" series due to hit shelves in July.

Randy talks about circumstances surrounding the death of Chewbacca and the treatment of author R.A. Salvatore after the event. He even reveals some items on his editorial "10 Forbidden Items" list for Star Wars writers.

But most importantly, Randy drops a huge teaser on comic fans everywhere with a massive three word hint as to what is on the horizon for Star Wars comics. Fans will certainly be buzzing and speculating about the teaser's meaning!

Arnie from Star Wars Action News (aka S.W.A.N.) wrote to let us know that S.W.A.N. has posted their 200th podcast! Wow... simply amazing! A huge congrats from all of us here at GB! We're looking forward to the next 200! Here's a little more info about the 200th podcast:

"It is a video podcast reviewing items from across the Star Wars brand from vintage Kenner vehicles to the latest Sideshow releases in the 12" and Premium Format line, as well as a look at lenticular products released through the years. There are also several collection spotlights, some children-centric collecting segments, a video made by Star Wars Galaxy Series IV artist Artbot138, and more."

Our friends at Urban Collector are shooting off some fireworks of their own this July 4th by offering an additional 10% off on all in stock items on their site. Considering the already great prices, this is an amazing deal. Use coupon code 0704sale to get the discount.

NEW PREORDER:

STAR WARS - OFFICIAL STARSHIPS & VEHICLES COLLECTION
This cool series features miniature metal models of all the greatest ships from Star Wars. Each set also features a magazine with background info and specs on the ship. All the sets are priced at $16.99 each

Okay, we want your help getting Twitter buzzing!

We want to know who you think would make the best President and VP of the Star Wars galaxy if there was an election in 2012. Fictional Star Wars characters only please - let's not start voting for Kobe Bryant or Paris Hilton please!

How do you cast your vote? Well, head on over to Twitter and let us know your choices for President and VP.

We're hoping this might catch on and trend on Twitter... so please help us spread the word. The hashtag we'll be using is #starwarsvote

Brian's Toys has all sorts of new products this week. Make sure to get an order in for the Kotobukiya Series 1 Jedi Set (pictured above). They have also received Sideshow Collectibles 12-Inch Captain Antilles and Stormtrooper Commander.

To see all their new items make sure to look over their current newsletter.

StarWars.com has posted the amazing news that Star Wars and adidas have joined forces to bring some streetwear and apparel from a galaxy far, far away to our wardrobes! The collection will be released in Spring/Summer 2010. From the official site:

"Global streetwear icon, adidas Originals is proud to announce a unique collaboration with one of the world's best known and loved brand marks: Star Wars. This stellar Spring/Summer 2010 collection fuses iconic Star Wars characters and scenes with classic adidas Originals footwear and apparel silhouettes."

Click through to read all the details.