Reviewer: Mathan “Is it me, or is 355 getting hotter?” Erhardt
Story Title: Ring of Truth Chapter Three
Written by: Brian K. Vaughan
Penciled by: Pia Guerra
Inked by: Jose Marzan, Jr.
Lettered by: Clem Robins
Colored by: Zylonol
Cover: Massimo Carnevale
Editor: Will Dennis
Publisher: Vertigo/DC Comics
By now you should know that every male in the world is dead, except Yorick and his helper monkey Ampersand. Yorick, Dr. Mann and Agent 355 have finally made it to Dr. Mann’s lab in San Francisco. Unfortunately, Yorick lost his wedding ring (and what he thinks is the reason he survived the plague) during an encounter with some agents of a rogue outfit called the Setauket Ring. 355 went to retrieve it, when Hero, Yorick’s mentally unstable sister, crashed the meeting. Phew.
This issue begins with Dr. Mann corralling Ampersand in her lab, while the mysterious ninja looks in from outside on a window ledge. Then we return back to where the last issue left off, with Hero leveling her weapon at 355. Hero asks about the whereabouts of her brother, which piques the interest of the Setauket Ring.
Back at Dr. Mann’s lab, she watches over Yorick who collapsed after losing his ring. Yorick has dreams featuring a dead friend, but awakes to find Dr. Mann. He details his laments, and she assures him everything will be fine.
We again return to the meeting where Hero takes control of the situation. She explains how she followed Yorick’s path cross country and how it was filled with dead bodies, including the body of 711, 355’s old partner. At that point the Setauket Ring realizes it’s about to hit the fan.
At Dr. Mann’s lab, she discovers what caused Yorick’s sickness, botulism poisoning. Apparently he ate food from a dented can. She then alters her treatment accordingly.
Back at the meeting, 355 is enraged to find out her former partner is dead at the hands of the Setauket Ring. Anna Strong, the leader takes action and orders her two subordinates to open fire. Hero is wounded, but 355 makes short work of her assailants. She then turns her attention to Anna Strong, and breaks her neck. But not fatally. She has a message that she wants Anna to deliver to her cohorts, when they come to retrieve her.
Then 355 turns around and finds herself facing Hero, who again is aiming a gun at her. What’s worse, is that Hero’s imaginary friend Victoria is urging her to kill 355.
The issue ends with Dr. Mann proclaiming; “I know how you survived the plague.” To Be Continued.
Vaughan never really disappoints. He clearly has everything plotted in his head, and every issue has a pay off of sorts. This issue doesn’t reveal too much, but the pay off of seeing 355 in action is great. And the reveal that Yorick wasn’t suffering the plague, but an extreme case of food poisoning was nice as well, and his rationale was completely within character.
Pia and Jose are amazing. They manage to pack action and drama onto every page. The look of shock as 355 learns the fate of 711 is beautifully rendered, as is her rage a few pages later. Of course there is nothing more shocking than seeing 355 cry, which we witness this issue. And Clem never slacks on the lettering. Note the subtle difference Yorick’s sickly speech, and Anna’s paralyzed whisper. As a guy who’s a bit under the weather right now, I can say that Yorick’s speech “looks” very accurate.
