Is It Already The End Of The New Age Of Heroes?

It was announced last week that The Immortal Men would be cancelled with its sixth issue coming out in September. This comes as something of a surprise considering co-publisher Jim Lee and star writer James Tynion IV are both a part of the series. The choice for The Immortal Men to fall first may be surprising, but the cancellation of titles from DC Comics' New Age of Heroes line is not. This collection of 8 new series was first announced in 2017 as a collection of titles that would be driven by artists and introduce a wide range of new characters to DC Comics in the wake of their fall event Dark Nights: Metal. While "Metal" was a big success for the publisher, collecting some big sales numbers and rave reviews, everything that came from it has not experienced a similar reception.

The entire New Age of Heroes line has been plagued with struggles from its very launch. The Immortal Men was originally planned to be launched before the end of 2017, but was significantly delayed. This might be due to delays in the originating event as the final issues of Dark Nights: Metal were pushed back repeatedly, resulting in a staggered launch of new series that often referenced plotlines that had not been completed yet. Instead of providing a popular launchpad, it only generated confusion. The component of the line that was supposed to be artist-driven was also not well implemented. Many series began with fill-in artists contributing pages to the first several issues. There was a general lack of interest in the line as a whole. Unlike DC Comics' many successful imprints from the past several years, like Young Animal and Wildstorm, this New Age of Heroes seemed less cohesive and lacked a clear marketing strategy.

The truth is that it's not surprising to see titles cancelled in their first year, only that The Immortal Men was the very first to fall. It very likely won't be the last to be cancelled in 2018 (or maybe even this August). That's why we're taking a look at the overall health of the New Age of Heroes brand, walking through the recent sales of each title along with their connection to DC Comics current creators and line. If you're interested in what might happen to many of these new heroes, we have prepared odds on them surviving the year and justifications for each set of numbers. It's not a reflection of the overall quality, as many of the series have offered great premises or some top-notch talent, but it is the unfortunate truth of where this collection of titles is heading.