# Is "The Funhouse" by Owen West (Dean Koontz) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Funhouse by Owen West (Dean Koontz) (Jove, 1980) is identified by: Jove paperback original as by Owen West, a movie tie-in novelization; copyright page states First Jove edition published November 1980. Paperback original under the Owen West pseudonym; the advance promotional printing precedes the retail issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Jove paperback original as by Owen West, a movie tie-in novelization; copyright page states First Jove edition published November 1980
- Important quirk: standard retail first-issue copies carry a number line ending in 2, because the true first printing was a promotional Special Advance Edition whose number line ends in 1
- Retail copies with the line ending in 2 are the collected first trade printing
- Publisher imprint reads Jove
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Owen West (Dean Koontz) |
| Publisher | Jove |
| Year | 1980 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Jove paperback original as by Owen West, a movie tie-in novelization; copyright page states First Jove edition published November 1980 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Jove paperback original as by Owen West, a movie tie-in novelization; copyright page states First Jove edition published November 1980. Important quirk: standard retail first-issue copies carry a number line ending in 2, because the true first printing was a promotional Special Advance Edition whose number line ends in 1. Retail copies with the line ending in 2 are the collected first trade printing.

## Is this the true first?
Paperback original under the Owen West pseudonym; the advance promotional printing precedes the retail issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
N/A (paperback original).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Funhouse* by Owen West (Dean Koontz) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-funhouse
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.