Doctor Sigmund is a Dutch

gag-a-day A gag-a-day comic strip is the style of writing comic cartoons such that every installment of a strip delivers a complete joke or some other kind of artistic statement. It is opposed to story or continuity strips, which rely on the development of ...

comic strip, created by

Peter de Wit Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

. It centers around a short-sized psychiatrist who constantly fails to provide his patients with proper help.

History

''Sigmund'' made his first appearance in an educational TV documentary series for Teleac about the art of drawing comics, presented by Dutch comics artists

Hanco Kolk Hanco Kolk (born 11 March 1957, Den Helder) is a Dutch cartoonist and comics artist. He is best known for his collaborations with Peter de Wit, with who he made ''Gilles de Geus'' and '' S1NGLE' Kolk married author Isabelle Rosselin in 2016. Bi ...

and

. The episode aired on Dutch television in 1992 and dealt with

comics. De Wit explained he came up with an idea for a gag-a-day starring a dwarf-like, one-eyed psychiatrist whose cynical attitude towards his patient causes them to hate him. The series was originally called "Mensch, durf te leeven" (after a 1919 song of the same name), but was later changed to the character's name ''Sigmund'', a nod to

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...

. Only two years later did the comic strip actually get published. It runs in the Dutch newspaper ''

De Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized c ...

'' and has also been published in ''

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

'', ''

Het Laatste Nieuws ''Het Laatste Nieuws'' (; in English ''The Latest News'') is a Dutch-language newspaper based in Antwerp, Belgium. It was founded by Julius Hoste Sr. on 7 June 1888. It is now part of DPG Media, and is the most popular newspaper in Flanders and ...

'' and ''

Gazet van Antwerpen The ''Gazet van Antwerpen'' (Antwerp Gazette, popularly named ''De Frut'', "sour head cheese") is a Belgian newspaper in Antwerp and Flanders, published by Concentra. History and profile ''Gazet van Antwerpen'' was established in 1891. Its edit ...

'' In ''Het Laatste Nieuws'' it was published as ''Meneerke Psy'', but only ran for three months because readers felt the strip was too cynical. As of 2015, 25 albums have been published, special editions not included.

The comic

Many gags feature

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

, such as suicidal patients, serial killers or people with mental issues. Sigmund is the only recurring character, though sometimes cameo's from Dutch celebrities, like Queen Maxíma can be seen.

Spin-offs

''Sigmund'' also has a spin-off called ''Burka Babes'', featuring women in burka discussing matters. In 2011 De Wit made a special

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

about Sigmund called ''Het Lege Nest'' ("The Empty Nest").

Stage adaptation

De Wit also adapted ''Sigmund'' into a theatrical sketch format. During the ''Cartoonference'' tour in December 2004 he,

, and played stage shows based on the comic strip.

Awards

In 1995 De Wit received the VSV-Publieksprijs for the first ''Sigmund'' album. According to the author the comics are very popular with actual psychiatrists who put them on display in their waiting room for their clients to enjoy.

Sources

{{Reflist

External links

English language comics at the Sigmund homepageComic House portfolio of Peter de WitFan site
Dutch comic strips Dutch comics characters 1992 comics debuts Fictional psychiatrists Fictional Dutch people Comics characters introduced in 1992 Gag-a-day comics Satirical comics Black comedy comics Comics set in the Netherlands Comics adapted into plays Comics by Peter de Wit Psychotherapy in fiction Male characters in comics Dutch satire