Dr. Pigeon: Psychological Psychiatrist
Habitual Novelties
https://habitualnovelties.com/
https://jasonrandell.com/
Dr. Pigeon: Psychological Psychiatrist is a black and white A5 zine that takes a fun, creative comic approach to philosophical ideas.
I must say that I was intrigued by this zine from the start. A pigeon psychiatrist? I need to have a look at that. A pigeon psychiatrist that, through comics and interesting characters, explores concepts like the universe? Yes, please!
We open up with an introduction to Dr. Pigeon as well as the zine we’re about to dive into. This zine is introduced as a day in the life of the doctor with a glimpse into a few sessions.
In these sessions we meet three patients: The Universe, Death, and Yourself. Each patient is given its own part with a comics spread and then one page of musing on the ‘patient’. I quite liked the musings which were all fairly short with no answers nor any attempts at pushing any particular views. They read like the sort of deep conversation starters you’d have with friends at midnight while looking up at the stars. The meaning is yours to make or not make.
Aesthetically, this zine is great. The font choice is nice and clear, the art style goes well with the subject matter and tone. The little details are a lot of fun, too, like a discount coupon for your first session with Dr. Pigeon and a tour of the doctor’s office (illustrated, of course). I would have been quite happy with the ‘patients’’ sessions, and these elements really added icing to the cake (so to say). Plus there is such a fun little something special to the page numbers – but I will leave that for you to discover.
Jason’s approach to adding in the contact and other relevant details makes me grin. On the inside front cover, you find everything you could want to know about the zine – from the inks and printers used to what print run and copy the individual zine is. On the back inside cover you find all the external links your heart could desire. Everything absolutely covered, and I think it’s fantastic.
All said and done, this zine left me feeling happy. I enjoyed the fun space that didn’t take itself too seriously while still inviting some deep thinking. I hope there is another one of these out there or to come in the future.