''Alien Worlds'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

comic that was published by

Pacific Comics Pacific Comics was a comic book Distribution (marketing), distributor and Comic book publisher, publisher active from 1971 to 1984. The company began as a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill Schanes, Bill and Steve Schan ...

and then

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...

between 1982 and 1985. It was edited by Bruce Jones and his partner April Campbell.Johnston, Rich
"When Diamond Comic Distributors Flexed Its Censorial Muscles..."
''Bleeding Cool'' (December 29, 2018). It was a sister title to Jones' horror anthology ''

Twisted Tales ''Twisted Tales'' was a horror comics comics anthology, anthology published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. The title was edited by Bruce Jones (comics), Bruce Jones and April Campbell. Publication history ''T ...

''.

Publication history

''Alien Worlds'' was published on a bi-monthly schedule by

from December 1982 to April 1984 for eight issues, with a single issue of spin-off ''Three Dimensional Alien Worlds'' published in July 1984. After Pacific went bankrupt, two final issues were published by

in November 1984 and January 1985. Eclipse considered continuing the title but instead opted to create '' Alien Encounters'' with a variety of writers. Instead Jones took ''Alien Worlds'' to

Blackthorne Publishing Blackthorne Publishing Inc. was an American comic book publisher that flourished from 1986 to 1989. They were notable for the ''Blackthorne 3-D Series'', their reprint titles of classic comic strips like Dick Tracy, and their licensed products. B ...

, who produced a

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...

featuring reprints of stories taken from earlier issues. In 1987 Eclipse struck a deal with Jones & Campbell's new packaging operation Bruce Jones Associates for new prestige format bi-annual versions of ''Alien World'', cancelling ''Alien Encounters'' to make room. Only a single issue of the new format was produced. Following Eclipse's bankruptcy in 1995, the company's assets were purchased by

Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic-book creator, best known for his work as an artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horror-fantasy series '' Spawn,'' as well as bein ...

. Believing that the deal included the names of the Jones/Campbell anthologies, he teased a series called ''Todd McFarlane's Alien Worlds'' in the 1998

''Total Eclipse'', but the comic would never appear.

Content

Nearly all of the stories in ''Alien Worlds'' were written by Jones, with only a few exceptions (notably

Jan Strnad Jan Steven Strnad (sometimes credited as J. Knight; born 1950) is an American writer of comic books, horror, and science fiction. He is known for his many collaborations with artist Richard Corben, as well as his work in the ''Star Wars'' expan ...

's "Stoney End" in issue #8 and

Frank Brunner Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Early life Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating class ...

's "The Reading!" in issue #9). For the most part ''Alien Worlds'' avoided the more intensely gruesome subject matter of ''Twisted Tales'', which was being published at the same time, though part of Eclipse's reason for starting ''Alien Encounters'' was to cut down on the amount of sexual content. Among the cover artists for the series were

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican Party (United States), Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to ...

Dave Stevens Dave Lee Stevens (July 29, 1955 – March 11, 2008) was an American illustrator and comics artist. He was most famous for creating '' The Rocketeer'' comic book and film character, and for his pin-up style "glamour art" illustrations, especiall ...

William Stout William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worked on over ...

, and

Joe Chiodo Joe Chiodo (born 22 January 1958) is an American artist and colorist who has worked in the comics industry. He has been recognized for his work with a nomination for the Comics Buyer's Guide Favorite Colorist Award in 1997 (with the company Wi ...

Features

1982 series

1987 series

Revival series

In 2010, Jones and actor

Thomas Jane Thomas Jane (born Thomas Elliott III; February 22, 1969) is an American actor. Born and raised in Maryland, Jane's film career started with the Telugu-language romantic comedy '' Padamati Sandhya Ragam'' (1987). His other early films included ...

announced that they were writing a revival series slated for release sometime in the future.CBR STAFF
"CCI: RAW Studios Panel: Actor Thomas Jane and artist Tim Bradstreet announced the relaunch of long defunct Pacific anthology 'Alien Worlds' and horror anthology 'Twisted Tales' in addition to other RAW Studios news"
''CBR'' (AUG 03, 2010). As of 2025 no further news has emerged.

References

External links

* * * * {{Eclipse Comics 1982 comics debuts 1985 comics endings 1988 comics debuts 1988 comics endings Comics anthologies Comics publications Comics set on fictional planets Defunct American comics Eclipse Comics titles Pacific Comics titles Science fiction comics