The original FantaCo Alien Encounters was a 36-page 1981 one-shot black-and-white comic containing short, self-contained stories by Steve Bissette, Steve Stiles, Fred Hembeck, Mike Zeck and Howard Cruse, among others.[1] After Pacific Comics went bankrupt in 1984, their titles were taken over by Eclipse Comics, including Bruce Jones' Alien Worlds, a similar science fiction-themed anthology. They decided to replace Alien Worlds with a new title that would feature a wider range of creators,[2] and purchased the rights to the Alien Encounters title from FantaCo, with Ken Steacy designing the new series' logo.[3]
Alien Encounters was sometimes criticized for featuring gratuitous nude scenes.[8] Reviewing the fourth issue for Amazing Heroes, R.A. Jones was largely unimpressed by the lack of originality shown by the contents.[9]
Other media
The story "Nada" by Ray Nelson and Bill Wray, from Alien Encounters #6 (April 1986), was an adaptation of the story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Nelson that was the inspiration for the 1988 John Carpenter film They Live.[10]
