AKA Books and Comics

AKA Books & Comics was a comic shop in Glasgow which opened in 1983 which spun out of the success of the local comic marts.The shop successfully ran for many years. Originally based in the city's Virginia Galleries (moving from one unit to another to a third over the years) AKA was owned by comics guru John McShane and Pete Root. Both John and Pete are considered to be the founding fathers of the Glasgow comic scene. Indeed John McShane was involved in the publishing of the well respected The Bogie Man comic, written by John Wagner and Alan Grant and illustrated by Robin Smith.

The shop moved to Parnie street in 1994 but financial difficulties eventually led to its demise. Despite the best efforts of partners Colin Macneil (Judge Dredd: America) and Cory MacRae AKA was unable to keep going in the face of the ongoing financial pressure placed On It by Titan Distributors, later sold to Diamond Distributors. AKA was determined to maintain the independent spirit of comics in the face of the ever increasing corporate identity being forced on the comic scene.

While owned by Cory MacRae and John McShane, AKA championed comic artists Frank Quitely, Robbie Morrison, Jim Alexander, Alex Ronald and Colin MacNeil, to name only a few. Visiting artists such as William Simpson and Cam Kennedy gave their support while Dave Sim (Cerebus) and Gerhard visited for signings AKA was unable to hold back the tide and eventually gave in to the pressure in Feb. 1995. During AKA Books & Comics 10 years, Glasgow became the centre for an unrivalled independent scene.

The importance of AKA Books and Comics cannot be understated as it was the breeding ground for a generation of renowned comic creators such as Mark Millar and Grant Morrison, both of whom were regular customers and would often be found behind the counter in Virginia Galleries discussing their attempts to break into the industry.