How did you first become aware of the 'Small Press' or 'Indie' scene?

I had always known there was an indie press, though what they did and how big it was, was generally a mystery. I’d bought copies of both Zarjaz and Dog Breath at the previous years Dreddcon, but beyond that, I wasn’t sure.

The eye-opener was when we took Solar Wind #1 to the Bristol Comic Festival in 2003. We shared a table with Dr Bob, the editor of Dog breath and I got to see what a wide range of comics and creators there were. I was very impressed.

What led you to try and make a comic book of your own?

Myself and Gareth Whitty (co-creator of Solar Wind and Cosmic Ray) had attempted a few Future Shocks together. But we had one strip, Deathsphere, which we thought had real potential. We realised we didn’t really want to submit it, but didn’t know what else to do with it. I suggested building a spoof 70’s comic around it and it all went from there.

How did you land upon the idea Solar Wind?

We had the basic idea, what we now needed was a title and a figurehead for the comic. Gareth came up with Solar Wind and Cosmic Ray as the editor. I added some staff whose bodies had been destroyed by cosmic radiation and the Drones, who were cloned slaves. And some bad guys, which we never really got around to using.

You seem to have a great interest in the history of UK comics, with classic 70's and 80's titles like Action, 2000AD and The Eagle an influence? How do you balance this and avoid, say, just merely repeating what has gone before?

The easiest way is to not do too much research. I do have an interest and a great enthusiasm for British comics, but I’m not an expert. I just like to take the attitude I pick up in comics, and any inspiration taken directly from the comics is ideally subverted to produce something new and original. Strict parodies aren’t really what Solar Wind is about, though there has been the odd one or two.

Do you ever find that producing your own comics can be something of a thankless task?

Thankless, no. I get lots of nice e-mails from people saying how much they enjoyed reading or contributing to the comic as well as generally good reviews. Every time someone tells me how much they enjoyed it, I get a real buzz and sense of satisfaction that I haven’t wasted my time.

Where it gets difficult, is sustaining the enthusiasm for something that eats up a lot of free time, costs you money and a certain amount of hassle. Working as part of a larger editorial team would be helpful, but as always, the main thing is to keep working.

What do you enjoy most about producing your own comics?

To create the sort of comic you’d want to read, but nobody is going to make for you, is fantastic. I have never come half way towards what I really wanted in my mind, but it’s still a strange mixture of pride and embarrassment with each new issue.

How did you go about selling your comic, and how do you get people to notice it now?

You can get a free announcement in Comics International and SFX Magazine kindly gave us the first of many mentions. The 2000AD message board (without which there would never have been a Solar Wind) was very useful because it was a subject matter many could relate to. Festivals are very useful and recently we tried a Multi-AD, which is many people buying and sharing a page of advertising in a magazine.

Unfortunately, I’m not a natural salesman, and am prone to laziness and complacency so currently, I do very little.

How do you see the comics scene in general today, both nationally and internationally?

Internationally, I’m not sure. The Japanese and Europeans appear to have a healthy attitude to comics, in that they are read in vast quantities by people from all ages, sex and walks of life.

Britain, which is a real creative reservoir of talent capable of great things, exists mainly to service the American comic book industry. Keeping the world of superheroes spinning with endless reinventions and novel turns.

Britain has 2000AD, for which I think we should be very grateful. But what comics exist, such as 2000AD or the Beano, don’t really have any competition and sadly don’t exist as part of a wider, healthier, market.

What I’d like to see is focussed anthologies that come out reasonably regularly from the small press. If there is one cult hit, it could really propel the small press into the spotlight.

You should really ask someone who has been in it longer than I have - Solar Wind first came out in May 2003! But since then I’ve noticed more anthologies (which I think is the way to go), ever increasing production standards and more importantly a rise in work of exceptional quality.

What's next for both Solar Wind and Paul Scott beyond it?

Solar Wind 6 is now out, which is a sports themed issue. It was suggested to me by John Wagner, and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too keen initially. This may come as surprise to many, but I’m not really into sports and never enjoyed playing football as a kid. I’ve always been a token Newcastle supporter, but deep down I’ve known it was never for me. I went to one game at St James’s Park as a kid, where they beat Wimbledon 1-0, but I missed the goal as I was buying a pie. Anyway, the issue is very much a pro-sport/anti-sport vibe.

What comes next for Solar Wind, well, if I made any promises I’d only break them, so wait and see is my answer.

I’ve already released the first issue of an SF anthology called Omnivistascope (OVS if that’s too much of a mouthful), which has had stunning reviews, and the usual small press sales figures. It’s basically a book, square bound, glossy colour cover, and inside it’s full of character based science fiction adventure stories influenced by my love of 70’s SF films, Brit SF TV, Nigel Kneale, John Wyndham and 80’s 2000AD and Warrior is all in there. It has disgruntled sewer workers, post-apocalyptic Northumbrian killers, alien archaeologists, puritan run planets, the galaxy’s most miserable man and all sorts of groovy things. I’m intending to do at least three issues of OVS. Issue 2 is out this May at Bristol, and has all of the same, plus more.

Plus I’m writing for other small press anthologies now, something that is quite important to me, as I want to be sure I can meet the quality controls of other editors. As well as write things that I might normally avoid. And I also have some one off ‘book’ projects lined up as well, which I don’t want to jinx by telling you about.

After the May comic festival at Bristol, I think I’ll take stock of what I’ve managed to achieved so far, and see where I want to go from there. But for the moment, that is the future, and all I can do is dream about it…

For more info on Solar Wind, Sunny For Girls, Big War and Omnivistascope, go to www.omnivistascope.com and www.solarwindcomic.co.uk. Comics can be ordered via PayPal on the website, or by cheque/postal order to: PAUL SCOTT, 13 Kiln Crescent, Bishop Middleham, Ferryhill, County Durham, DL17 9AP. Solar Wind #6 is out now!