An Austin tattoo artist just scored a spot on America's mail. Nat Power, an Austin-based tattoo artist, created digital artwork of five folkloric animals that will appear on United States Postal Service stamps as part of the 2027 lineup, with the artist naming the series Mythical Creatures.
The U.S. Postal Service unveiled its preliminary 2027 stamp subjects Monday, and according to about.usps.com, the Mythical Creatures set features five different stamps depicting some regional favorites. The agency says Power digitally drew the creatures and icons representing their environments in bold black linework and vivid colors reminiscent of her tattoo-design work, while USPS art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps themselves. As KVUE reports, the set includes Mothman, the jackalope, the squonk, sasquatch and Champ.
Each creature carries its own regional backstory. Mothman is described by the USPS as a flying, red-eyed, human-size being first reported in 1966, and KVUE notes festivalgoers now honor the legend by wearing spooky-cute costumes in its likeness. The jackalope, an antlered rabbit mashup that leapt into Western legend, traces back to two taxidermist brothers in Wyoming who created the mashup in the 1930s, per the USPS announcement.
From Pennsylvania Lore to a Vermont Lake Monster
The squonk originates in northern Pennsylvania folklore, and the USPS describes it as a figure that wept constantly in old lumbermen's tales but today stands in as a beloved symbol of anxiety. Sasquatch, also known as Bigfoot, has influenced culture well beyond its Pacific Northwest roots, KVUE notes. Champ, meanwhile, is a lake monster of centuries-old legend that has become the mascot for the Lake Champlain region spanning New York and Vermont.
Power's work caught the attention of Central Texas television, too. FOX 7 Austin reports that the artist digitally illustrated the Postal Service's upcoming Mythical Creatures stamp set, though the station adds that the official nationwide release date and pricing details for the stamp pane have not yet been announced.
Release Timing Still Murky
The USPS itself has cautioned that its full 2027 roster isn't locked in. This is a partial list, with additional subjects to be announced in the coming weeks and months, the agency said in its announcement, adding that these designs are preliminary and may change. No specific release date for the Mythical Creatures stamps has been announced.
Coverage of the set hasn't been entirely consistent on scope. While the USPS describes five different stamps depicting the five creatures, WPSU reports that the new set will release sometime in 2027 and will include 20 stamps. The discrepancy between those two counts hasn't been resolved in available reporting.
Once released, the stamps will be available for purchase at post offices or online, following the USPS's standard distribution for new collector sets. For Power, whose tattoo-style linework is now headed to mailboxes across the country, the Mythical Creatures series marks a notable crossover between regional folklore and national postal history.
