Matrix: With novels, short stories, TY scripts, radio adaptations and comics, you seem to be involved in almost every form of speculative fiction imaginable. Has this been a deliberate policy or more a reaction to opportunity?
Paul Cornell: The latter, more than anything. I’m hoping to end my career purely as a novelist, but I’m having fun in all these fields.
M: You’ve written comics for both the big American brands, Marvel and DC. When you were growing up, which were the comics you read and collected – did you favour one over the other?
PC: I was a Marvel kid, but sometimes when I went to the seaside on holiday there were only DC comics in those spinner racks, so I started loving Green Lantern and The Brave and the Bold too.
M: Your recent interview regarding your latest comic outing, Lex Luther, seems to have sparked quite a reaction. Is this a case of ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ or would you retract some of what you said if you could?
PC: We didn’t expect any reaction at all, it caught us by surprise. Which is why we explained and calmed everything down. I mentioned ‘Lex Luthor and his new girlfriend Lois Lane’ expecting people to go ‘hmm, that can’t be true, I’m intrigued to see what he’s planning’, instead of which, there were calls for my head. It’s a thing, a trick, a joke, and anyone who’s angry won’t be when they see what it is, half way through the first issue. There’s no point in prolonging a false controversy. It gets in the way of the story.
M: You must be getting used to seeing your scripts nominated for awards, but this year one of your novellas, One of Our Bastards is Missing, also features on the Hugo shortlist. How does the feeling compare?
PC: Never used to it! Always amazed! I’m particularly pleased to have been nominated for prose. That really was a dream come true, way before I thought it could. The Hugos are everything to me, something I’m fiercely interested in, and proud of. I can’t wait for Melbourne.
M: On Thursday June 3rd the pilot episode of your latest TV venture Pulse premiers. Could you tell us a bit about the show and how it came about?
PC: It’s a medical horror show of an SF sort (that is, our horror isn’t supernatural in origin), concerning black ops within the NHS. It’s a relationship drama, a conspiracy thriller. I was approached to take it on a couple of years ago, and have found the team to be a real treat to work with. And it’s kind of an obvious show, really. There should be a show like this, and I hope we’re the ones to fill that niche. The audience numbers and online reaction will decide!
M: When you script a show such as this, how much input if any do you have in such things as the casting?
PC: Not my job as lead writer. The casting here is excellent, though. Claire Foy really does heavy lifting. It’s her quest, she’s the centre for us.
M: Assuming the Beeb have the wisdom and great foresight to commission the show, how far do you see it running – just one season or could you see this as a long-trem feature?
PC: We have plans for longer than that. I’d love to see it go long term. We know where the conspiracy is going, so we’re able to tell that story to whatever length we get given.
M: Are there any further novels in the pipeline at the moment, or have your many other commitments put such things on hold for now?
PC: Yes, I’m proud to say I have a novel coming out next year from Tor. I’m really pleased about that, Julie Crisp and her team are great people to work with.
M: When it comes to your own science fiction writing, do you deliberately try to disassociate your work from Dr Who, the comics and the other media you’re involved in, or do you find there’s some bleed between them?
PC: I think it’s only slightly helpful, in that I’m very proud of my Doctor Who work, and I can see the same themes pop up elsewhere in what I do, but it’s just one thing, and I don’t want to be ‘that Doctor Who guy’. I think I’ve actually got away from that already.
M: If you could fulfil just one further writing ambition in whatever field or format, what would it be?
PC: To write many more novels. To win a Hugo. Okay, that’s two.
M: Paul Cornell, many thanks for your time. We at Matrix wish you every success with Pulse, Lex Luther, Spitfire, and your many other projects.
PC: Thanks.
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