A FIFE COLLEGE lecturer has turned a childhood passion for comic books into a business.

Artist and writer Colin Maxwell, 48, from Dunfermline, first began making comic books six years ago after being inspired by a project he worked on with his students.

After launching his 10th comic book last weekend as part of the 'Defend Fife' festival retelling the first bombing air raid of World War Two on the Forth, his work is as popular as ever with orders coming from as far as Australia and America.

Colin told the Press: "I teach animation and computer games at Fife College.

"I was doing a project with the students about Robert the Bruce for the 700th anniversary of Bannockburn and I thought I would turn the animation into a comic book.

"It just seemed to go from there and I had people suggesting other stories I could do!

"My latest book came about after I was at a parents evening for my son at the air cadets in Rosyth.

"I noticed they had a poster about the raid and it just took my interest.

"I've made it as accurate as I can get it! The biggest thing with this book was that there was so much research to do, unlike Robert the Bruce because you just have to rely on some medieval records.

"So many people got in touch to share their stories of the event on the Forth; like how a dog in Inverkeithing got shot down by a spitfire bullet, so I had to add a few short stories at the end of the book. It's been fascinating."

Colin's latest book looks at October 16, 1939, when 12 German bombers descended on West Fife in search of HMS Hood, the flagship of the British Navy. But they were surprised to find resistance from two squadrons of Spitfires which had only just arrived in Scotland days earlier. Two enemy aircraft were brought down in the Forth as a result.

However, Colin is already planning his next comic, which will be based on a Polish submarine that managed to escape Nazi control and make it to Rosyth Dockyard at the beginning of the Second World War.

He added: "I was always into comics as a kid but I was never interested in history.

"But I had never really done any art for 20 years either – I just got back into it and found I really enjoyed it.

"I moved to Dunfermline 25 years ago and just found I became more interested in history being here.

"I'm hopeful that the comics will also enlighten people to what happened on our doorstep because it's not obvious if there is not some big monument.

"It usually takes me about nine months to complete a book but I also get some other artists to help as well."

Colin hopes his passion might one day in the future become a full-time job and believes the comic industry is only on the up.

He said: "I'm surprised there is quite an appetite for WWII stories, it seems it has captured people's imagination again.

"I have got orders coming in from everywhere around the world!

"I also write science fiction and I won the Dundee Comic Prize in 2017 for one story.

"I think there is more interest than ever in comics. My dad used to get the British comics ordered to the door every Saturday and we're lucky to have a shop in Dunfermline but you can now get them online, so it's just so accessible.

"I actually publish the books myself and I am considering potentially publishing other authors' work.

"A lot of work goes into it from start to finish!

"I would quite like to do this full-time at some point or at least dedicate more hours to it.

"Fortunately, I get a lot of holidays as a lecturer so I do as much as I can then!"

For more information, visit www.maximized.co.uk/