Story
This campaign is the 1986 ORIGINAL GRIPS #1-relettered and colored for the 1st time
writer: KRIS SILVER artist: TIM VIGIL colorist/letterer: PATRICIO HERNANDEZ publisher producer: EVERETTE HARTSOE
standard comic book format 32 pages full color all of book is done and waiting for final orders to be sent to printers
Everette Hartsoe’s Razorverse Acquires 1980s Indie Comic GRIPS from Kris Silver’s Silverwolf and Greater Mercury Comics
Las Vegas, NV – Everette Hartsoe, the visionary creator of Razor and architect of the Razorverse, proudly announces the acquisition of GRIPS, a seminal 1980s indie comic originally developed by Kris Silver under Silverwolf Comics and Greater Mercury Comics. This acquisition brings a cult-classic title into the Razorverse fold, uniting two iconic indie legacies and expanding Hartsoe’s gritty, boundary-pushing universe of anti-heroes and dark storytelling.
INTERIORS of 1986’s GRIPS #1-Early Tim Vigil ( Liberty) art
GRIPS, launched in 1986 by Silverwolf Comics during the black-and-white comics boom, carved its niche with a raw, violent narrative centered on a comic illustrator turned vigilante. Featuring early artwork by acclaimed artist Tim Vigil, the series gained a loyal following before transitioning to Greater Mercury Comics after Silverwolf’s closure in 1987. With its unapologetic tone and spin-off Fat Ninja, GRIPS remains a celebrated artifact of the indie comics revolution.
Hartsoe, whose own creation Razor redefined the “Bad Girl” archetype in the 1990s, views GRIPS as a kindred spirit to his Razorverse. “Kris Silver’s GRIPS embodies the fearless, DIY ethos that fueled the indie comics scene I came up in,” Hartsoe said. “Bringing it into the Razorverse isn’t just about nostalgia—it’s about merging its savage energy with Razor’s world to create something explosive for a new generation.”
The Razorverse, an interconnected universe of dark, character-driven tales anchored by Razor, will reintroduce GRIPS through a multi-phase rollout. Plans include remastered editions of the original series, new storylines integrating GRIPS into the Razorverse mythology, and potential cross-media adaptations. Hartsoe intends to preserve the essence of Silver’s creation—its unrelenting grit and outsider perspective—while infusing it with the cinematic flair and emotional depth that define his own work.
This acquisition reinforces the Razorverse’s mission to honor indie comics history while pushing the boundaries of modern storytelling. Fans can anticipate the first GRIPS-inspired Razorverse project in late 2025, with additional details to be revealed throughout the year.
Kris Silver (full name Kristoffer A. Silver) is an American comic book creator, writer, and independent publisher who founded Silverwolf Comics in the mid-1980s in California during the black-and-white comics boom, producing a range of creator-owned titles almost entirely written and conceptualized by him, including standout series like Grips (featuring early art by Tim Vigil), Fat Ninja, Eradicators, Edge, Nightmaster, and others that blended violent vigilante action with superhero elements. After Silverwolf ceased operations in 1987 amid the market’s downturn, Silver rebranded and relaunched as Greater Mercury Comics in 1989, continuing many of the same characters and stories through titles like Grips Adventures and GMC Action until the early 1990s, leaving a cult legacy as a quintessential example of ambitious but often critically panned indie publishing from the era.
Tim Vigil is an American comic book artist renowned for his visceral, explicit work in the horror and adult genres, most famously as the co-creator and illustrator (alongside writer David Quinn) of the cult independent series Faust: Love of the Damned, which debuted in the late 1980s through Rebel Studios and became notorious for its extreme graphic violence, sexual content, and dark anti-hero narrative—influencing later works like Spawn and earning a film adaptation directed by Brian Yuzna in 2001. Emerging from the 1980s black-and-white comics boom with early titles like Grips, Vigil’s hyper-detailed, ink-heavy style pushed boundaries in mature storytelling, with follow-ups like Faust: Book of M receiving a Bram Stoker Award nomination; he has also contributed to projects involving Frank Frazetta properties and custom artwork for musicians.
Tim Tyler is an American comic book artist, writer, and independent publisher known for his contributions to the 1980s and 1990s black-and-white boom and horror genres, having attended the Joe Kubert School before launching his own imprint, Fathom Press, through which he created and self-published titles like Blood Reign, Ravage, Ratsbane, Cadaver, Fiends, and The Dead Crew—often blending mature horror, action, and retro monster themes in black-and-white formats. A veteran of the indie scene with over 40 years in the industry, Tyler has also inked for high-profile series such as early Razor (London Night Studios), Faust (Rebel Studios and Avatar Press), and Dreadstar (First Comics), while later founding Rat House Comics for color projects and retro-style magazines like Fiends and Bolt Action, showcasing his enduring passion for creator-owned storytelling.
Frederick Cooper is an American horror and monster artist born in Danville, Virginia in 1961, who began drawing monsters at age 3 and turned professional at 15, building a career spanning over four decades in illustration with early roots in small-press comics like those from Silverwolf comics in the 1980s working on CRIMSON COUGAR and PSYCHOPATH by Kris Silver before dedicating himself to classic horror iconography inspired by legends such as Frank Frazetta, Basil Gogos, and Bernie Wrightson. Renowned for his vivid traditional and digital portraits of Universal Monsters and silver screen fiends—including Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Wolf Man—Cooper has created magazine covers for Horrorhound, Blu-ray artwork, movie posters, and contributions to Wizards of the Coast, while releasing acclaimed art books via Kickstarter, such as Vereor Nox: The Monster Art of Frederick Cooper (2020), Lux et Umbra: The Monster Sketch Art of Frederick Cooper, and Creaturae Noctis: The Horror Art of Frederick Cooper, showcasing his cinematic, atmospheric style in the monster kid tradition.
Kyle Brummond is an American comic book artist, writer, and independent publisher based in Las Vegas, Nevada, who founded Splatter Comics—an imprint dedicated to gritty, violent, and unconventional graphic storytelling blending traditional sequential art with modern elements, launching titles via Kickstarter such as Flesh or Blood, Justice (a dark tale of a man with telepathic abilities), and others featuring splattery horror and action themes. A lifelong comics enthusiast with roots tracing back to self-publishing early works like Exodus 2000 in the 1980s, Brummond gained wider recognition for his dynamic, bloody artwork on the “splatter western” series Lead City (written by Eric Borden), a brutal battle-royale story published by Red 5 Comics from 2022 onward, showcasing his skill in high-octane violence and atmospheric illustration.
Patricio Hernandez is a lesser-known figure in the comic book industry, primarily recognized in niche circles for his contributions as an artist and creator on independent titles such as the zombie-themed series Z-Men (published around 2016) where he handled writing and artwork in a style blending horror and action elements typical of small-press comics. While not a major mainstream colorist or artist with extensive credits from publishers like Marvel, DC, or Image, Hernandez represents the diverse voices in indie comics, often self-publishing or working on creator-owned projects that explore genre tropes with personal flair, though his body of work remains limited and under-the-radar compared to more prominent Latino creators in the field. One of the main colorist and letterers in OCCULT PRESS.
Everette Hartsoe is an American comic book creator, writer, artist, and publisher best known for founding London Night Studios in the early 1990s with just $1,200 from a tax refund, turning it into a major independent force during the “bad girl” comics boom with annual sales exceeding $800,000 and over five million copies of his flagship title in circulation worldwide. He created the ultra-violent vigilante character Razor (Nicole Mitchell) in 1991—partly inspired by personal tragedy including the death of his younger sister—debuting her in Razor #1 (1992), a series renowned for its graphic content, gothic aesthetics, and pin-up style that influenced the era’s mature readership, featuring crossovers like the acclaimed The Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain (1998) . Recognized as one of the most powerful figures in comics in the mid-1990s, Hartsoe took a hiatus after 1999 but returned in the 2010s with Kickstarter-funded projects from OCCULT PRESS, continuing his legacy in creator-owned horror and action storytelling.
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