SLG Publishing is now pleased to announce that all of Dr. Radium’s manic, madcap Man of Science (mis)adventures will be collected into a single volume. Scheduled for release in January 2004, Dr. Radium Battles Phill, King of the Pill Bugs! assembles all five issues of the original Dr. Radium: Man of Science series, along with a previously unpublished story.  

SLG Publishing's president and publisher Dan Vado made the decision to bring back Dr. Radium for both those whose eyes still light up at the mention of the sneaker-wearing scientist and for new young readers who haven't had the chance to experience Dr. Radium's scientifically unsound entertainment. "A new generation needs to read Dr. Radium," said Vado. "It's funnier than a clown with a live pig in his shorts."

An indie comics veteran, Scott Saavedra has been involved with SLG since the company's conception nearly eighteen years ago and now acts as its art director. He also produces Comic Book Heaven, a 'zine published by SLG that affectionately but irreverently pays homage to comic books from the industry's strange past. Dr. Radium was one of Saavedra's early creations, and one that fans still remember fondly. "Even though the Dr. Radium, Man of Science series that is collected in this volume ended quite awhile ago, I continue to run into folks who want to know when 'the next one' is coming out," said Saavedra.

Joel Priddy, creator of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Pulpatoon Pilgrimage, is among those fans, and he greeted news of the collection with spirited enthusiasm. "Oh, gosh, but I love this comic. [Dr. Radium] looks so simple. But watch out. This is the kind of honed-down simplicity that slips right past your eyeballs and takes up residence in the back of your head," said Priddy. "Take Dr. Radium. He's such a pure, crystalline character design that I defy you to read this comic and then draw a crazed scientist who doesn't look like him. It's positively viral."

In regards to possibly creating new Dr. Radium stories, Saavedra strikes a hopeful, but coy, tone. "I have to admit that preparing this collection has reintroduced me to Dr. Radium," he said, "and the thought of doing 'the next one' sounds more and more interesting – and possible – all the time."

Dr. Radium Volume One: Dr. Radium Battles Phill, King of the Pill Bugs is a 112-page 5 1/2 x 8 1/2" digest-sized trade paperback scheduled for release in January 2004. It will retail for $9.95. A preview is available at SLG Publishing's website, www.slavelabor.com. Two more volumes of Dr. Radium are in the works. The second will collect the original It's Science with Dr. Radium and the third will contain the 48-page specials The Dr. Radium Special and Dr. Radium and the Gizmos of Boola-Boola.

Established in 1986, SLG Publishing is a San Jose, CA-based publisher of comics books and graphic novels. Operating under its imprints Slave Labor Graphics and Amaze Ink, SLG Publishing has distributed the work of such notable cartoonists as Jhonen Vasquez, Roman Dirge, Evan Dorkin and Andi Watson. More information about the company can be found at its website at www.slavelabor.com.