The New Age of DC Heroes (originally titled as Dark Matter ) is a comic book line published by DC Comics from 2018 to 2020. The titles – Damage , The Silencer , Sideways , The Terrifics , The Curse of Brimstone , The Immortal Men , New Challengers , and The Unexpected – were set in the DC Universe following the events of Dark Nights: Metal . The line was considered a commercial failure.
10-605: In 2016, the Dark Matter line was announced alongside The Sandman Universe , with both comic lines to be set in the DC Universe after Dark Nights: Metal , featuring new characters alongside re-imagined versions of old ones from DC Comics. In 2017, Dark Matter was rebranded as "The New Age of DC Heroes". As of July 2019, all of the constituent series had been cancelled except The Terrifics , which continued until 2020, with its last three issues published digital-only, during
20-584: A second chance at life, but only if they obey the orders of the mysterious Professor and execute deadly missions in the most unexplored corners of the multiverse. Janet Fals, alias Firebrand , is a former paramedic who is forced to feed the Conflict Engine inside her heart by starting a fight every 24 hours. The Sandman Universe The Sandman Universe is a line of American comic books published by DC Comics under its imprints DC Vertigo and DC Black Label . The line launched to celebrate
30-483: The COVID-19 pandemic . Ethan Avery is a soldier who submits to an experiment that turns him into a monster, Damage , leading him to question everything he believed about his cause. Honor Guest is a retired assassin who is targeted by her former employers, Leviathan . Derek James gains the abilities to travel across dimensions. Mister Terrific , Metamorpho , Plastic Man and Phantom Girl join forces to escape
40-409: The one-shot The Sandman Universe #1 on August 8, 2018, with the other series following on later dates. When asked why he returned to The Sandman , Gaiman said he began to feel guilty that almost no one had been able to return to the series since its conclusion and liked the idea of reviving it, as well as letting new writers play with his "toys". Gaiman assembled the writing team for the line with
50-536: The 25th anniversary of the launch of the DC Vertigo imprint. The line was conceived and is overseen by the series' creator, Neil Gaiman , but produced by new creative teams. The Sandman Universe expands The Sandman ' s part of the DC Universe using new characters and concepts. The line was announced by Entertainment Weekly in March 2018 and was accompanied by a trailer featuring Gaiman. It launched with
60-506: The 30th anniversary of Neil Gaiman 's The Sandman (1989–1996) and Vertigo's 25th anniversary. The Sandman Universe began in August 2018, with a titular one-shot , which was followed by four ongoing series — House of Whispers , Lucifer , Books of Magic , and The Dreaming . Each comic is overseen by Gaiman but written by new creative teams. The Sandman Universe celebrates the 30th anniversary of DC Comics ' The Sandman and
70-593: The Dark Multiverse. In order to protect his hometown, Joe Chamberlain makes a deal with the demon Brimstone , but Joe must track down and destroy Brimstone before the power he now wields destroys the town he was trying to save. Led by the Immortal Man , they are a team of immortal heroes who protected the world from an ancient threat. As the New Challengers , five misfit strangers are given
80-657: The Vertigo editorial team. Both parties suggested writers who they thought would be good for new Sandman stories. Samples by writers were then read by Gaiman, who decided whether or not they were proficient. Choosing writers also involved deciding which comic suited which writer best. Gaiman cited Nalo Hopkinson 's science fiction work as an influence for assigning her to House of Whispers . Gaiman chose Kat Howard , who he has worked with for several years, to reboot The Books of Magic because of her handling of magic in her stories, and Dan Watters to write Lucifer because he
90-504: The one-shot. According to the review aggregator Comic Book Roundup, the line has an average rating of 8.9/10 based on 20 reviews. Kat Howard Kat Howard is an American author and editor. Her stories have been published in the anthologies Stories (edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio ), and Oz Reimagined (based on L. Frank Baum 's characters). She is also a contributor to magazines such as Lightspeed , Subterranean , Uncanny Magazine and Apex . She attended
100-457: Was up to the challenge of recreating the character. The Sandman Universe began with a titular one-shot released in August 2018. It picks up after the events of DC's 2017–2018 Dark Nights: Metal crossover event. Dream has disappeared since the conclusion of Metal , leading to chaos in his homeland of the Dreaming . Each Sandman Universe series follows a story thread introduced in
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