Razor #0
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeRazor #0 — subtitled 'Souls of Darkness' — marks the debut appearance of Nicole Mitchell, the trauma-driven vigilante who would become one of the defining figures of the 1990s independent 'bad girl' comic movement. Conceived and self-published by Everette Hartsoe on a shoestring budget before the genre even had a name, the issue demonstrated that a single creator working outside the mainstream could build a substantial cult readership around a morally complex, violence-forward female protagonist. The series that followed went on to influence an entire wave of small-press imitators and helped establish London Night Studios as a legitimate independent force during the speculator boom. Razor #0 also served as the direct prologue to a franchise that would eventually cross over with Shi, The Crow, and Warrior Nun Areala, cementing its place in the connective tissue of 1990s indie comics.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Everette Hartsoe conceived Razor in the fall of 1991 and funded London Night Studios — the imprint that would carry the character — with a $1,200 income-tax refund. The original 'Razor 0-Black' edition was a purely exploratory self-published test, consisting of only 300 copies distributed with an all-black cover bearing just the logo and two signatures, debuting at San Diego Comic-Con International in 1991. The story inside, 'Souls of Darkness,' was written and drawn by Hartsoe with additional artwork and inks by Richard Pollard and lettering by Dave Vance. A proper commercial reprint followed in March 1992, co-published by Mystery Graphix and London Night Studios with actual cover art, and a further Fathom Press edition appeared in September 1992; London Night later issued yet another reprinting in April 1995 with redrawn interior artwork, making the publication history of this single issue unusually tangled even by 1990s indie standards.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Nicole Mitchell / Razor: the character's debut in comics is catalogued as Razor #0, subtitled 'Souls of Darkness,' predating Razor #1 by nearly a year.
- Created, written, and illustrated by Everette Hartsoe, with additional inks by Richard Pollard and lettering by Dave Vance.
- The original 'Razor 0-Black' print run was limited to 300 copies and was distributed as a free promotional test copy at San Diego Comic-Con International in December 1991.
- The March 1992 London Night/Mystery Graphix reprint was the first edition to feature actual cover art, replacing the plain black cover of the original test run.
- At least four distinct editions of Razor #0 exist: the 1991 black-cover original, the March 1992 Mystery Graphix/London Night reprint, a September 1992 Fathom Press reprint, and an April 1995 London Night reprint with redrawn artwork.
- The series and character are credited as among the earliest entries in the 1990s 'bad girl' genre — Hartsoe himself noted the book launched in 1991–92 before the genre label even entered common use in 1993–94.
- The broader Razor franchise that grew from this issue later served as the first appearance of Shi (in Razor Annual #1, 1993) and featured early professional work by artists Eric Powell and Georges Jeanty.
- A live-action film adaptation was in development multiple times, including a 2017 announcement with director Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) attached to write and direct.
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