Comic Info
Comic Name: Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: James Robinson
Artist: Tony Salmons/Bret Blevins
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 2009
Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice #1
Reprints Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice #1-4 (November 1995-February 1996). Greg Saunders has left the “Wild West” and gone to Hollywood with plans of making it big in Western films. When Saunder’s friend Stuff gets mixed up with Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel over a girl, Greg finds he must return to his roots and dawn the guise of the Vigilante. Bugsy is facing more challenges than just the Vigilante…as he tries to start his oasis in the desert called Las Vegas, he finds that every seems to be gunning for him!
Written by James Robinson, Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice is a DC Comics western limited series. The collection features art by Tony Salmons and Bret Blevins.
There is something appealing about both the DC and Marvel Western stars. I am not a huge western fan, but I have a lot of respect for westerns and their role in Hollywood and storytelling. People like Billy the Kid and Jesse James were kind of like the early “comic book heroes” of kids. It is also interesting to think about how the “Wild West” wasn’t that separated from modern times and the conflict between the world of the Vigilante and mobsters could cross.
Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice #4
Robinson has a knack for writing realistic, everyday heroes. His run on Starman was classic (though I’d argue it hasn’t aged well), and I also enjoyed his approach to the JSA. A character like the Vigilante is right in Robinson’s wheelhouse and the setting of early Hollywood and Vegas brings another layer to the story.
The series does a good job blurring the lines between western hero and superhero. You have the Vigilante battling a supervillain in the Dummy, and western heroes always generally battled bandits and a host of generic bad guys. The decision to have the Vigilante take on organized crime also makes a lot of sense since it seems like gangsters were also some of the first “super-villains” of the world…plus, cowboys and gangsters are weird niche genres that are fun to blend.
Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice is a quick read. The short four issues tell a nice tale and features good art primarily by Salmons with Blevins providing additional work. I like the style and the look of the comic and how it kind of feels like a throwback to The Sandman Mystery Theater and other genre blending comics. Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice is definitely worth checking out.
