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Some TMNT stuff was always meant for grownups. |
- Tales of the TMNT, volume 2
- Previous: The Bait/Transcript
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- Mirage Chronology
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- Next: Thoughts on Paper/Transcript
Page 1[]
Credo [Donatello is seated at a typewriter, using two fingers to punch out his words.] I'M NOT REALLY SURE HOW TO START OUT HERE. MICHELANGELO, MY BROTHER, IS MORE THE FAMILY WRITER. LEO'S THE LEADER. AND RAPH'S THE FIGHTER. "" [The next panel shows the typewriter.] AS FOR ME, I'VE NEVER BEEN ENTIRELY SURE... "" |
Page 2[]
[Donatello stops typing and rests his chin against his fist.] MAYBE I'M THE THINKER. "" [Flashback: Donatello hides against a brick wall, in the shadows, as kids play basketball.] ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I DIDN'T LEARN IN KINDERGARDEN BECAUSE I DIDN'T GET TO GO TO KINDERGARDEN. "" [An image of Splinter.] BUT I HAVE LEARNED MY LESSONS. FROM OTHER TEACHERS... BOTH GOOD... "" [An image of Baxter Stockman.] ...AND BAD. "" |
Page 3[]
[Flashback to Donatello in a lab coat and wearing safety goggles as he mixes things in test tubes.] BUT STILL. HERE'S THE ESSENCE OF ALL THAT I'VE LEARNED, SO FAR HERE ON EARTH. A DISTILLIATION OF THE FACTS THAT GET CARRIED WITH ME DAILY, AND I STRIVE TO REMEMBER NO MATTER WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING, OR THAT I MIGHT BE DOING. "" [Something explodes.] KA-BOOM!! [Donatello is on the floor, his lab coat in tatters and his body covered in goop as smoke billows around him.] OR TRYING TO DO, AT LEAST. "" |
Page 4[]
OUR WORLD IS FULL OF MODELS, SYMBOLS. "" [One panel shows Stockman in his fly form, another shows a Foot Ninja. The next panel is of a large tree in a wooded area, then finally a tall building.] WE MOSTLY LEARN FROM THE NATURAL WORLD. "" |
Page 5[]
[Donatello stands near the base of a waterfall.] EVERYTHING INCREDIBLE... "" [Switch to Donatello filling a glass with water.] ...BEGAN AS ELEMENTAL. "" [Donatello sets the glass aside, takes a dictionary off a bookshelf and opens it to the word "conflict".] SHOULDN'T THERE BE A BETTER WORD FOR THE OPPOSITE OF "CONFLICT?" SHOULDN'T THERE BE A "PROFLICT?" "" [The last panel shows several individuals whom he has known.] IN THE END, TRUE FRIENDS COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES. "" |
Page 6[]
AND PRACTICE DOESN'T MAKE PERFECT! "" [A blindfolded Leonardo swings his katana near a tall tree.] PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. "" [Leonardo stabs his swords in the tree trunk and then starts spinning them against the wood.] BUT WHEN A LESSON BECOMES AN OBSESSION... "" [Leonardo has carved a wooden horse from the tree. As he stands admiring his work, the horse's head breaks off and falls.] ...MOST OF ITS BENEFITS ARE LOST. "" |
Page 7[]
[Donatello leans back in his chair and stares at his words.] IN THE END, WE SHOULD NEVER STOP LEARNING, NEVER STOP GROWING. WE SHOULD ALWAYS KEEP GOING, BECOMING MORE OF WHOEVER WE ULTIMATELY ARE. THE WRITER RICHARD BACH SAYS, "HERE IS A TEST TO FIND WHETHER YOUR MISSION ON EARTH IS FINISHED: "IF YOU'RE ALIVE, IT ISN'T." THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE. AND THAT'S WHY I WROTE THIS. "" [The paper in the typewriter holds the last words of his credo.] This is the soul of all that I know. "" At 16-years old, this is my credo. "" The End "" By Donatello "" February 18, 1987 "" THE END. |