Alien Worlds

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title=Alien Worlds


caption=The cover of "Alien Worlds" #6, art by Frank Brunner
schedule=Bimonthly
format=Anthology
publisher=Pacific Comics and Eclipse Comics
date=December 1982 - January 1985
issues=10
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creators=Bruce Jones:"The extra-solar planetary documentary "Extraterrestrial" was broadcast as Alien Worlds in the UK.

"Alien Worlds" was a science fiction anthology comic book edited by Bruce Jones and April Campbell. The title was published on a bi-monthly schedule by Pacific Comics from December 1982 to April 1984 (eight issues, including an offshoot "Three Dimensional Alien Worlds" published in July 1984). After Pacific went bankrupt, two final issues were published by Eclipse Comics in November 1984 and January 1985. In 1986, Blackthorne Publishing published their own one-shot "Alien Worlds" title. In May 1988, Eclipse issued a standalone, unnumbered edition of the title as part of its Graphic Album Series, featuring all new stories and art.

Nearly all of the stories in "Alien Worlds" were written by Jones, with only a few exceptions (notably Jan Strnad's "Stoney End" in Issue # 8 and Frank Brunner's "The Reading!" in Issue # 9). Jones had developed a skill for the short genre tale, often with a twist ending, during his years with Warren Publishing while writing for their "Creepy" and "Eerie" titles. He was heavily influenced by the horror and science fiction movies of the 1950s, adding graphic violence and sexuality to the mix, complete with copious female nudity; several issues sported a “Recommended For Mature Readers” warning on the cover. However, for the most part "Alien Worlds" avoided the more intensely gruesome subject matter of Jones' other Pacific comic, "Twisted Tales", which was being published at the same time.

Front covers for the comic were by, among others, John Bolton, Dave Stevens, Frank Brunner, and Joe Chiodo. Contributing interior artists included Bolton, Stevens, Al Williamson, Richard Corben, Roy Krenkel, Val Mayerik, and Rand Holmes, as well as two stories written and illustrated by editor Jones himself.

In 1985, soon after the cancellation of "Alien Worlds", Eclipse began publishing a similar science-fiction themed anthology, "Alien Encounters". The title ceased publication in 1987 after fourteen issues.