Cultural critic Mark Dery has just inked a book deal for The Doubtful Guest: The Mysterious Mind and Legendary Life of Edward Gorey–billed as “the first true biography” of the iconic artist.

In a post,  Dery declared: “I was born to write this book.” We’ve embedded a YouTube link to the theme credits for PBS’ Mystery, an art project Gorey started in 1980. Read more about the late artist at the Mystery homepage.

Here’s a description of the Mystery art, from PBS: “From the very first episode, Gorey’s incredibly imaginative imagery, animated by Derek Lamb, has given the series is signature look. His skulking characters may seem to be up to no good, but look more closely and you’ll probably realize Gorey is winking at you, like that skull in the tombstone in the opening credits. The message well may be: Enjoy what follows, but take it seriously at your peril.”

Full disclosure: This GalleyCat editor took a NYU course with Dery in 2004.