| Alien Encounters | |
|---|---|
 Cover toEclipse Comics'Alien Encounters #1, art byJoe Chiodo. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | FantaCo Enterprises Eclipse Comics |
| Format | One-shot(FantaCo) Ongoing(Eclipse Comics) |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | January1981(FantaCo) June1985 - August1987(Eclipse Comics) |
| No. of issues | 1(FantaCo) 14(Eclipse Comics) |
Alien Encounters is an Americanscience fictionanthologycomic book published byFantaCo Enterprises and thenEclipse Comics. The comic debuted with FantaCo in 1981, and in 1985 was taken over by Eclipse.
The original FantaCoAlien Encounters was a 36-page 1981one-shot black-and-white comic containing short, self-contained stories bySteve Bissette,Steve Stiles,Fred Hembeck,Mike Zeck andHoward Cruse, among others.[1] AfterPacific Comics went bankrupt in 1984, their titles were taken over by Eclipse Comics, includingBruce Jones'Alien Worlds, a similar science fiction-themed anthology. They decided to replaceAlien Worlds with a new title that would feature a wider range of creators,[2] and purchased the rights to theAlien Encounters title from FantaCo, withKen Steacy designing the new series' logo.[3]
Eclipse's version was a similarly sizedbimonthlyongoing series edited byCat Yronwode, and would run for 14 issues from June 1985 to August 1987; it was effectively replaced by a short-lived irregular revival ofAlien Worlds.[4][5] Creators who worked on the Eclipse series included Bissette, Cruse, Jones,[6] Zeck,Ray Bradbury,John Bolton,[2]Joe Chiodo,[2]Richard Corben,[7]Chuck Dixon,Gardner F. Fox,[7]Rick Geary,Peter Ledger,David Lloyd,David Mazzucchelli,Gray Morrow,Ray Nelson,Timothy Truman[7] andThomas Yeates. The title featured paintedpulp magazine-inspired covers by a variety of artists.
Alien Encounters was sometimes criticized for featuring gratuitous nude scenes.[8] Reviewing the fourth issue forAmazing Heroes, R.A. Jones was largely unimpressed by the lack of originality shown by the contents.[9]
The story "Nada" byRay Nelson andBill Wray, fromAlien Encounters #6 (April 1986), was an adaptation of the story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Nelson that was the inspiration for the 1988John Carpenter filmThey Live.[10]
