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Dr. Id: Psychologist of the Supernatural
Posted 21 Nov 2006
Writer: Adam McGovern
Artist: Paolo Leandri
Letters: Paolo Leandri
Ink: Paolo Leandri
Publisher: Indie Ink Studios
3.90 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by J. W. DeBolt Jr.
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At the Small Press Expo 2006 in North Bethesda, Maryland, I walked around the exhibitor tables, looking for pearls among the variety of oysters. One such pearl is Dr. Id: Psychologist of the Supernatural.
Dr. Id, whose first name is Drew, has the ability to go into someone’s mind in non-corporeal form, see the psyche at work, and fix what’s wrong while he’s in there. His telepathic powers include throwing a “mental block” on someone so as not to be seen. One unique power is the ability to make housecalls!
Comprising six stories in a one-shot volume, I found Dr. Id to be a fun and intelligent read. The pieces are presented as lost stories from the early 1970s that have been recently found and the artwork bears out the illusion with its remarkably Kirbian style.
In the story “Dr. Id vs. the Man of Two Minds,” the client begins by saying, “You were the only one under ‘para-psychiatry’ in the phone book.” She needs Dr. Id because her husband’s irrational impulses have split him into two different people: One who is a diligent honey-doer and the other who is a couch potato. Dr. Id must reunite his personalities.
In “Significant Shrinkage,” a fiancé freezes up after his engagement party, and Dr. Id finds his arch-rival Judge Mental in the man’s subconscious and the wordplay flies: “Who appointed you judge and jury of this young man’s mind?” “Why should a healthy young love be deadlocked just because you cannot see the appeal?” “I have ruled this naïve paramour’s pleas inadmissible!”
Other entertaining characters include a strangely familiar southern-accented television psychiatrist, celebrity psychologist Dr. Joy Bronner, and the Phantom Pain.
The homage to the early 1970s includes references for each story, such as “Originally published in Law and Disorders #5, 1971.” The retro look of the art and feel of the writing works well here. This is a one-shot, but I hope to see more of Dr. Id.
—CCdC—
Cover image supplied by publisher.
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