Razor is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

from the London Night Studios series ''Razor''. She was introduced in ''Razor'' #1 in October 1992, by writer/creator Everette Hartsoe.

Fictional character biography

Initially a victim of both of her father and her sister's deaths, the young Nicole Mitchell vowed to clean up the scum of Chinatown by herself as the superheroine Razor, named for the blades she wears on her arms, which evidently brings her into the eye of Roman Van Drake, the man who destroyed her family. In a twist of fate, it is revealed that not only is Nicole's sister, in fact, alive, but also she is Drake's favorite assassin, Stryke. In a play of power, Drake sends Stryke after Razor, who in the following battle comes to the conclusion that Razor is her sister. Angered at Drake's treachery, Stryke kills him, hoping to reconnect with her sister. But when Nicole shuns her like a stranger, Stryke kills her out of anger. Eventually resurrected by her descendant Poizon, Razor is called upon once again to battle with the newly resurrected Drake, alongside her sister Stryke, and Poizon, herself. In a four-issue series, published from April to September 1998, Razor teamed with

James O'Barr James O'Barr (born January 1, 1960) is an American comics artist, writer and graphic artist, best known as the creator of the comic book series '' The Crow''. Early life O'Barr, an orphan, was raised in the foster care system. Career In 1978, ...

's Eric Draven character from ''

The Crow The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...

'' in ''The Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain''. In October 1998, a #0 issue followed. In January 1999, a magazine titled ''The Crow/Razor: Nocturnal Masque'', featuring artwork of both characters and quotes attributed to each was released. In February 1999, two additional issues titled, ''The Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain: Finale'' and ''The Crow/Razor: The Lost Chapter'' were published.

Powers and abilities

Prior to her death, Razor was shown as a capable martial artist and gymnast who usually carried a pair of bladed wrist gauntlets. After death, the blades were surgically inserted into Razor's arms and painfully extend from her flesh.

Creation and reception

Hartsoe first published ''Razor'' after founding London Night Studios with $1200 that he received in an income tax refund. With the book's violent content and "

pin-up A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

friendly" artistic style, Razor is often considered part of the " bad girl" genre that rose in popularity during the early-mid-1990s. ''Razor Annual'' #1, published in 1993, contained the first appearance of

Shi Shi or SHI may refer to: Language * ''Shi'', a Japanese titles#Shi, Japanese title commonly used as a pronoun * ''Shi'', proposed gender-neutral pronoun * Shi (kana), a kana in Japanese syllabaries * Shi language * ''Shī'', transliteration of ...

. Writer-artist Eric Powell's first paid job in comics was drawing three issues of ''Razor''. The series also featured early artwork by

Georges Jeanty Georges Jeanty is an American comic book penciler illustrator best known for his work on ''The American Way'', an eight-issue American comic book limited series produced under DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint, and the '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Se ...

. She had a Swimsuit Special in 1995 (a pin-up edition with various artists including Mike Wolfer)

Film adaptation

It was announced in 2009 that

Arclight Films An arclight or arc lamp is a lamp that produces a bright light by generating an electric arc across two electrodes. Arclight, Arc Light or arc light may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Arclight (comics), a mutant super-villa ...

and Jeff Most Prods. – the production company behind ''

'' – have partnered to produce a live-action film based on the ''Razor'' series, with

Jeff Most Jeff Most (born September 15, 1960) is an American film producer, best known as the producer and music supervisor of '' The Crow'' film series. Most was co-producer on '' The Crow'' with Edward R. Pressman in 1993, and also produced the film's ...

and Gary Hamilton producing. The adaptation, for which filming was planned to begin in Australia in 2010, was reported to have a $15 million budget. During the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, it was announced that

Rob Cohen Rob Cohen (born March 12, 1949) is an American director and producer of film and television. Beginning his career as an executive producer at 20th Century Fox, Cohen produced and developed numerous high-profile film and television programs, inc ...

will write and direct the film. The film will feature

Emma Dumont Emma Dumont is an American actress, model, and dancer. She is known for her roles as Melanie Segal in the ABC Family series ''Bunheads'', as Emma Karn in the NBC series ''Aquarius'', and as Lorna Dane/Polaris in the FOX series '' The Gifted''. ...

as the lead character.

Bibliography

* ''Razor'' #1–12, 0, ½, Annual (1991–1994) * ''Razor: Uncut'' #13–51 (1995–1999) * ''Razor: The Suffering'' #1–3 (1994–1995) * ''Razor: Burn'' #1–5 (1995) * ''Razor: Cry No More'' (1995) * ''Razor: Torture'' #1–7 (1995) * ''Razor'' #1–7, Annual (1996–1997) * ''Darque Razor'' #1–4 (1997–1998) * ''Razor: Gothic'' #1–4 (1998) * ''Razor: The Darkest Night'' (1999) * ''Razor's Edge'' #1–6 (1999) * ''Razor: The Ravening'' (1999) * ''Razor: Till I Bleed Daylight'' (2000) * ''Razor: The Furies'' (2000) * ''Razor: Bleeding Heart'' (2001) * ''Razor X'' #1–2 (2002) * ''Razor X: Requiem'' (2004)

Crossovers

* ''Razor/Dark Angel: The Final Nail'' (1994) * ''Razor and

Special'' (1994) * ''Razor/Morbid Angel: Soul Search'' (1996) * ''Razor/

Warrior Nun Areala Warrior Nun Areala is a manga-style American comic book character created by Ben Dunn and published by Antarctic Press, first appearing in ''Ninja High School'' #37 in March 1993 as Shanna Masters. The story later revolves around 'Sister' Sh ...

: Faith'' (1996) * ''Sade/Razor'' (1996) * ''Warrior Nun Areala vs. Razor'' (1996) * ''Razor/Embrace'' (1997) * ''Razor/

Switchblade Symphony Switchblade Symphony was an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Their music combined orchestral sounds with heavy synth sequences and ethereal vocals to create a union of classical music and gothic rock. History Switchblade S ...

'' (1997) * ''

/Razor: Kill the Pain'' #0—4 (1998) * '' Pandora/Razor'' (1999) * ''Razor/Warrior Nun/Poizon'' (1999) * ''Razor and Warrior Nun Areala: Dark Prophecy'' #1—4 (1999) * ''Warrior Nun Areala/Razor: Revenge'' (1999)

Pinup comics

* ''Razor Swimsuit Special'' (1995) * ''Razor and the Ladies of London Night'' (1997) * ''Razor: Pictorial'' (1997)

References

{{reflist

External links

The official site of Everette Hartsoe
Comics characters introduced in 1992 Vigilante characters in comics