Newsstand copies of some Marvel titles currently on sale feature different titles and issue numbers vs. the direct versions. For example, Daredevil #17 in the direct market edition becomes Marvel Unlimited Featuring Daredevil in the newsstand edition, which also lacks an issue number on the cover. The indicia and the interiors of the two editions are exactly the same as is the cover art itself, though the spacial demands of the longer newsstand titles do change the impact of the illustration (something that is especially evident in the newsstand edition of Daredevil #16). This practice may be fairly widespread at least when it comes to Marvel's miniseries, which have been handled this way for a number of months. For example, Citizen V #1 in the direct market edition was re-titled Marvel Universe #3 for the newsstand channel.
Citizen V and the V Battalion
There are a couple of possible reasons for this tactic. One is that Marvel may feel that the 'Marvel' name is more important on the newsstand than the name of some of Marvel's second line superheroes, though Citizen V is one thing and Daredevil is something else. For the newsstand version of Daredevil #17, the cover illustration obscures the 'Featuring Daredevil' portion of the title, and if you didn't know that Daredevil was 'The Man Without Fear' you wouldn't be able to deduce it from this cover. Another possibility is that it's a slotting issue. Supermarkets do charge for adding new products, so it may be more economical to market more products under a single title rather than reflecting miniseries titles. This doesn't explain the handling of Daredevil in this way, however. We've asked Marvel to clarify and when we get more info, we'll pass it on.
Whether these newsstand variants have any collectible value is certainly open to question, but given the fact that Marvel sells around ten times as many books in the direct market as through the newsstand channel (see 'Marvel Direct Sales Over 90% of Single Copy Sales'), there is no doubt that there are a lot fewer copies of Marvel Unlimited Featuring Daredevil around than there are of Daredevil #17.
