Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice # 1 1995 NM-

Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice #1 1995 is the debut issue of a four-part prestige format miniseries published by DC Comics with a cover date of November 1995.

Written by acclaimed scribe James Robinson (Starman) with distinctively gritty, expressionistic artwork by Tony Salmons, the series breathes new life into DC's original, Golden Age cowboy hero rather than focusing on the better-known 1983 anti-hero version, Adrian Chase.

Setting the Stage: 1942 Las Vegas

The premiere issue shifts away from modern-day superhero tropes, presenting a hard-boiled, neo-noir period piece.

• The Opening Scene: The comic begins on a dark night in 1942 out in the Nevada desert just outside of Las Vegas. Infamous real-life mob kingpin Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and three of his ruthless enforcers are driving through the sand discussing business operations when Bugsy abruptly orders the car to pull over to take care of a bloody piece of business.
• The Crime: The narrative transitions to show the murder of a close partner and friend of Greg Saunders. Saunders is a suave Hollywood actor and country singer who masquerades as a western-themed hero.

Birth of the Two-Fisted Cowboy

Grief-stricken and fueled by vengeance over the murder, Greg Saunders abandons his clean Hollywood persona. He pulls a mask over his face, straps on a pair of six-shooters, and mounts a motorcycle to become The Vigilante.

Issue #1 establishes his brutal, one-man declaration of war against Bugsy Siegel’s sprawling criminal syndicate, laying the groundwork for a violent clash between old-school Western justice and the dawn of modern American organized crime.