A ten year old child who carries a briefcase to school mistakenly takes the President’s “Nuclear Football” and accidentally causes a international espionage incident in this political satire about how great power is rarely handled responsibly. Everywhere the President goes, there is a military liaison who follows, carrying a briefcase with the codes to launch a nuclear strike––and it’s just been lost. This is the story about what happens when a ten-year-old boy finds a nuclear football and accidentally brings the world to the brink of annihilation.
It’s one minute to midnight… and the nuclear football is still in play. Will Honken and Katrina save Elmo and stop President Longe from accidentally destroying everything in existence? How will Viktor use the secrets of America’s atomic arsenal to his benefit? Is white-hat black pilled Dumb@$$ P@yne the world’s most annoying anti-hero? Find out in this exciting conclusion that will hopefully leave you asking yourself… “Why the @#$% did we think the world our grandparents built was ‘good?”
Assassins, coverups, and incarceration—oh, my! Elmo finds himself in jail with Colonel Honken, who is currently suffering through a pretty bleak identity crisis. Meanwhile, the President meets with the man who killed her predecessor. It’s a jam-packed issue where each character has to confront the unpleasant reality they thought they knew. Plus, a new character helps Colonel Honken uncover “the truth.’
The Kremlin is falling, and Colonel Honken is literally one doorbell away from securing the nuclear football before anyone even notices that it’s missing. Until a bomb goes off—a truth bomb! Is Elmo really adopted? Is Viktor Elmo’s father? Who is lying? Who is telling the truth? Is General Yourke going through a really bad divorce? Either way, a heartbroken Elmo runs away from home, once again putting the codes to America’s atomic arsenal back in the sticky hands of an upset child.
DEATH TO THE VENOMVERSE! Return to the Venomverse! Where anyone can be the host of their favorite alien life-form! However, Carnage is on the loose, and he’s tearing these symbiotic relationships apart left and right! Who will be strong enough to end the red menace before he kills all the Venoms in the multiverse?
Collecting the digital DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE tie-in in print for the very first time!
The Nuclear Football is loose, and absolutely no one can know that it’s in the dangerous hands of a small child. Colonel Honken is sent on a recovery mission to clean up her mess by the General of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Meanwhile, Katrina is trying to figure out how to keep her status as a Russian double agent a secret when a long-held family lie is revealed to Elmo and changes his entire world.
Everywhere the President goes, there is a military liaison who follows, carrying a briefcase with the codes to launch a nuclear strike––and it’s just been lost. This is the story about what happens when a ten-year-old boy finds a nuclear football and accidentally brings the world to the brink of annihilation. Don’t Forget Your Briefcase #1 ranges from the absurd to grounded family drama in a debut that’s packed with the unexpected.
Going into Don’t Forget Your Briefcase #1 I expected a straightforward thriller about the nuclear football winding up in the wrong hands. It’s a concept we’ve seen many times before where someone winds up with a bag that looked like theirs but wasn’t. Then, it puts them in danger as the original owner(s), usually bad people, try to get it back. But, this debut written by Eliot Rahal surprised me as so much more in many ways.
Rahal has a gift of blending the serious and straight forward with humor and heart and Don’t Forget Your Briefcase #1 is a fine example of that. Opening with a briefing about the case, we pivot to a young boy whose name is Elmo, carries is dad’s briefcase to school, and is having issues with bullies. It adds a bit of shock and heart to the story and as a parent, I couldn’t help but feel a lot of sympathy for the young boy and what he’s going through. There’s teases of more in his past but it comes together to add a way to connect with a character that’ll be at the center of the luggage switch.
But, Rahal doesn’t leave it there. How the briefcase gets switched is an over the top scene that takes things to extremes in multiple ways (the reporting on the event!) and then there’s the final page which was completely unexpected. It all comes together for a comic that’s a great opening chapter.
Phillip Sevy‘s art is solid. With color by Nia Sahadewa and lettering by Frank Cvetkovic, the comic bounces around from grounded family drama, to comedic satire, and then over the top lunacy. It does it all in a way that it flows together and nothing seems out of place. Sevy and Sahadewa’s colors make the event where the briefcase is switched beyond comedic bordering on Tarantino films where blood flows for insane lengths of time taking things from bloody action to comedic camp.
Don’t Forget Your Briefcase #1 is a great debut that’s entertaining and will get you to want to come back. Where I expected it to be just a general “chase” story as those with the nuclear football attempt to get it back to where it belongs complete with misunderstandings and those who want it, it’s far more than that.
Everywhere the President goes, there is a military liaison who follows, carrying a briefcase with the codes to launch a nuclear strike––and it’s just been lost. This is the story about what happens when a ten-year-old boy finds a nuclear football and accidentally brings the world to the brink of annihilation.
(W) Alex Paknadel (A) Phillip Sevy (CA) Mike McKone Rated T+ In Shops: Jun 25, 2025 SRP: $5.99
FOLLOW HAVOK AND OMEGA RED’S JOURNEYS FROM KRAKOA INTO X-FACTOR AND SENTINELS!
Deep in the heart of the Limbo Embassy, Havok and the Goblin Queen sit surrounded by the secrets they keep from each other. And amid the cold mountains of Russia, the man called Omega Red returns home for the first time. Can these bloodstained heroes of Krakoa hold onto their new lives when old demons come calling?
Collecting X-MEN: FROM THE ASHES #7-12 for the first time in print!
In an extraordinary collaboration between two celebrated voices in comics, DC has announced the addition of an original story, “Master Planner” by writer Jenny Blake and artist Sara Soler with lettering by Jodie Troutman, to DC Pride 2025. This new story, like Kevin Conroy’s personal story “Finding Batman” (art by J. Bone) in 2022 and Phil Jimenez’s autobiographical story “Spaces” (art by Giulio Macaione) in 2024, is a poignant exploration of Blake’s identity, authenticity, and the universal quest for self-understanding. Blake is a co-creator of Black Lightning, along with Trevor Von Eeden, among other accomplishments.
Jenny Blake, a trailblazing figure with over five decades of contributions to the comics industry, shared her heartfelt reflections on the project:
When I came out as transgender, the comics community was overwhelmingly loving and supportive. Being asked to contribute to this anthology was unexpected and so affirming. I’ve done a lot of cool things in my 50-plus years in comics, but this story is one of the things I’m most proud of. I see myself in this story and I hope readers see something of themselves in it. I had a wonderful time writing my story, and I hope the readers enjoy it as much as I did.
The story, brought vividly to life by the extraordinary artistry of Sara Soler, invites readers into a journey that is both deeply personal and widely relatable, bridging human experiences of transformation, resilience, and belonging. Soler’s style beautifully captures the essence of Blake’s narrative, creating a perfect harmony between words and visuals.
Additionally, DC’s editorial team has selected a handful of letters, cosplay, and fan art to be published in a letters column within the pages of DC Pride 2025. Originally shared on the DC Official Discord server, fan contributions to DC Pride 2025 reflect how the legacy of DC’s storytelling has impacted, or reflected, their LGBTQIA+ identity, journey, or experience.
DC Pride 2025 will publish on June 4, available wherever comic books are sold. Contributors include writers Vita Ayala, Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Maya Houston, Sam Maggs, Tim Sheridan, and Josh Trujillo; artists Don Aguillo, Vincent Cecil, Derek Charm, A.L. Kaplan, Giulio Macaione, Alex Moore, Skylar Patridge, Emilio Pilliu, Max Sarin, and Phillip Sevy; colorists Eren Angiolini, Jordie Bellaire, Tríona Farrell, and Marissa Louise; letterers Aditya Bidikar, Frank Cvetkovic, Lucas Gattoni, Ariana Maher, Morgan Martinez, and Jodie Troutman for main story “The Heart Wants”; along with Blake, Solar, and Troutman for “Master Planner.” The 96-page Prestige format comic will feature a main cover by Kris Anka and variant covers by Sozomaika, Julia Reck, and Jack Hughes (1:25), all priced at $9.99 US (card stock).
