Off the Shelf: Allen Koszowski's Dreams from the Dark Side

It was the publication of Centipede Press's new book of Allen Koszowski's artwork that got me thinking about doing another installment of "Off the Shelf," but it's the fact that I already possessed the first four volumes of the top-notch horror anthology series Allen K's Inhuman that sealed the deal.

(Note the reversible dust jacket: matte on the outside, glossy on the inside.)

The signed edition of Dreams from the Dark Side is signed by Ramsey Campbell, who wrote the introduction, and Allen K himself. As it happens, each issue of Allen K's Inhuman anthology has also been signed by the artist/editor. Have a gander below.

But wait, there's more! Two of my Inhuman issues boast additional signatures. James Chambers inscribed the table of contents for issue 1, as seen above, and Elizabeth Massie did the same for the title page of her story in issue 2 (see below).

Both signatures, to the best of my recollection, were acquired when I attended the Borderlands Press Writers Bootcamp in Baltimore in 2009. It was either there or at the Bram Stoker Awards Weekend in Burbank, California, later that year.

Surprisingly, this beautiful new volume from Centipede Press has not sold out in either the signed or unsigned state, as of this post. I’m sure that won’t be true for long.

If I have one little gripe, it's that the book doesn't tell you which story, book, or magazine cover, each piece of art originally adorned. That would have been a nice touch. Still, it's an enormously fun volume to peruse, and the overall quality, as always with Centipede, is nonpareil.