Every month, comic publishers release their solicitation announcements to provide information to readers and retailers on comics that are coming out in three months’ time, but there’s so much information dropped at once that a lot can slip through the cracks.

This month in Marvel's June solicitations, there are some big returns of forgotten characters and costumes, a surprising-yet-welcome guest artist worth talking about, and two big debuts of mystery characters in familiar roles.

  • All-New Patriot!

    Secret Empire: Brave New World #2 (Paul Allor, Fabian Nicieza, Rodney Barnes, Brian Level, Tana Ford & Juan M. Frigeri)

    One of the most striking things right at the top of Marvel's solicits this week is the news of an all-new Patriot debuting during Secret EmpireMy first thought is that this might be a great way to get Sam Wilson into a new patriotic identity if he can no longer be Captain America or The Falcon, but I don't think that would happen in an anthology series. The character on the cover looks a bit too old and ripped to be the current Patriot, Elijah Bradley, but it'd be nice to have him reappear after being absent for a long time.

    Paolo Siqueira / Marvel Comics
    Paolo Siqueira / Marvel Comics
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  • All-New All-New Wolverine

    X-Men: Blue #5 & 6 (Cullen Bunn & Julian Lopez Velarde)

    It was teased in May's solicitations, but the time-displaced X-Men are going to team-up with a Wolverine in X-Men: Blue. Considering the solicitations mention Madripoor and Ms. Sinister, Daken seems like the most likely candidate, but I can't shake the feeling that it's not him. The character blurred out in the cover to X-Men: Blue #6 looks to have blonde hair, and given the general youthful nature of the series, I think it's possible that Jimmy Hudson of the Ultimate Universe may have slipped through the cracks of Secret Wars to join the team. It's a shame, considering the time-displaced X-Men used to be on a team with the current Wolverine, who is also dating one of them. I'm sure Laura's just busy.

    Arthur Adams / Marvel Comics
    Arthur Adams / Marvel Comics
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  • Echo Chamber

    Daredevil #21 (Charles Soule & Goran Sudzuka)

    Echo is a character that falls into the category labelled, "Oh yeah, whatever happened to them?" She was a love interest for Daredevil, Ronin in the Avengers for a bit, and then seemed to vanish after Secret Invasion. She showed back up in Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev's Moon Knight, but was unfortunately killed off to give Marc Spector a good dose of man-pain. Thankfully — and possibly another result of Secret Wars — Echo is alive and well in June's Daredevil as Charles Soule takes his experience as a practicing lawyer and lays it out on the page for the toughest trial of Matt Murdock's career.

    Dan Panosian / Marvel Comics
    Dan Panosian / Marvel Comics
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  • The Punisher Comes Home

    The Punisher #13 (Becky Cloonan & Kris Anka)

    One of the things that's easiest to miss when scanning solicits is news of guest artists joining a book for an issue or two, so I wanted to make sure I pointed out that Kris Anka is going to draw an issue of Becky Cloonan's The Punisher, and while I never would have considered it as a place for his talents, it makes absolute perfect sense. While his neon-infused sexiness might not seem like the best fit for a crime character, I reckon we could get the Nicolas Winding Refn of Punisher comics, and that sounds so dope.

    Declan Shalvey & Jordie Bellaire / Marvel Comics
    Declan Shalvey & Jordie Bellaire / Marvel Comics
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  • The Most Iconic Hoodie In Comics

    Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #3 & 4 (Peter David & Mark Bagley)

    I am a huge Ben Reilly fan, and a huge fan of the much-derided "Clone Saga," so when Marvel unveiled Ben's new costume, I was a bit disappointed that it didn't quite capture the magic of his '90s hoodie. Thankfully, it'll only take three issues for the most iconic hoodie in comics to return, as Ben suits up in the red and blue to take on his clone-brother Kaine for the right to call themselves the Scarlet Spider.

    Mark Bagley / Marvel Comics
    Mark Bagley / Marvel Comics
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