Originally published in: Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #1
Publication date: November, 1991
Story and pencils: Rick McCollum
Inks: Bill Anderson
Color: Jim Woodring
“Donatello: The Ring”
Summary:
In the woods of Northampton, Donatello finds the lonely
spot on the edge of a cliff where Splinter had instructed him to meditate and
practice in solitude. Don is impressed
by the scenic beauty and, in his distraction, stumbles over the cliff. He survives the fall, but chips off a piece
of his shell in the tumble. Looking at
it glinting in the sunlight, he sees that much like a felled tree, his shell has
rings inside it that denote growth.
As Donatello relaxes and contemplates what life might
have been like had he remained an ordinary turtle, an unseen presence takes
notice of him. The presence recognizes
Don as a part of the “ring”; the eternal circle. The presence considers how its people once
crawled on their bellies, then rose up but became lost in the process. Soon, they fell and have remained patiently waiting
ever since. The presence is glad to have
met Don, as it knows that Don and his brothers will help the cycle begin anew.
Meditating, Don opens his eyes and catches a brief
glimpse of a giant turtle poking its head out of the treetops. Don races back to the farmhouse to tell his
brothers and bring them back to the spot where he had his vision.
Turtle Tips:
*The story continues in TMNT (Vol. 1) #37.
*The contents page lists the title as “The Ring” while
the first page reads “Donatello: The Ring”.
*The same team is responsible for the short,
“Raphael: Snapper”. McCollum and
Anderson did not do any short stories for Michelangelo and Leonardo, however.
Review:
One of the themes that runs throughout all of McCollum's TMNT stories is the dichotomy between the TMNT’s two halves:
animal and human. Being normal turtles
that were mutated into humanoid anthropomorphs, they exist partly in both
metaphysical categories like a multi-ethnic child with dual citizenship. More often, though, TMNT stories tend to
focus on their humanity rather than their spiritual kinship to Mother Nature. Personally, I find the former more
interesting than the latter, but that doesn’t mean tales where the TMNT explore
their bonds with the spiritual elements of Earth’s fauna aren’t interesting
every now and again. Michael Zulli’s “SoulsWinter” trilogy did a great job exploring that topic.
“The Ring” is a necessary prelude to the full-length “Twilight
of the Ring”, especially when you consider that “Twilight of the Ring” opens
with Don running into the farmhouse and jabbering about seeing giant turtles in
the woods. The second volume of Turtle
Soup really was required reading during a stretch of TMNT Vol. 1, as so many
Vol. 1 guest issues were spun directly out of the shorts in this anthology.
In the end, that’s all “The Ring” really is: a prologue
that sets up the main story in TMNT #37.
All the same themes will be explored in that tale, but in greater depth,
and they’re more worth talking about once I tackle that full issue.
On another note, it seems that McCollum and Anderson had
designs on doing a full 4-part series of Turtle-themed shorts using the “Turtle
Name: ______” titling gimmick. A shame
they never made it past Donatello and Raphael, but I guess the cancellation of
Turtle Soup put an end to any of their plans to complete the series. What’s interesting is that each short features the designated Turtle having visions delivered by emissaries of the
natural world, reminding them of their connection to it. Each Turtle experiences these visions in
their own way: Don’s is one of contemplation and study while Raph’s comes in
the form of a violent attack. I’d loved
to have seen how Mikey and Leo would have received their supernatural visits.
Grade: B (as in, “But McCollum sure must love
mushrooms. They’re everywhere in this
short”.)
