The Teen Titans and also the Legion of Super-Heroes were inherently more appealing to fans when comics were primarily bought by kids. Kids could look up to teenage superheroes, but modern fans are mostly adults who are less likely to recall their teenage years with fondness. For similar reasons, Captain Marvel has also floundered with modern fans. To a kid, the ability to magically turn into an adult is an awesome super power. To an adult, it's utterly unimpressive.
I think this is kinda the problem with any Teen Titans book, though-- you have this seminal series from thirty years ago that worked because Wolfman was allowed to really change those characters, it got massively popular, and then all efforts were made towards maintaining that success, which meant trying to break the TT franchise down to a repeatable formula. Unfortunately, what made the NTT era successful was that Wolfman, Perez, and their other collaborators had some real freedom to do something different with these characters, and every further iteration was about maintaining the status quo while superficially giving the illusion of change rather than giving creators the freedom to go in new directions. It's exactly what happened to the X-franchise during the '90s. Even something like the Johns/McKone era, which featured different characters, really seemed invested in recapturing the spirit of Wolfman/Perez rather than doing its own thing.
"In any time, there will always be a need for heroes." - the Time Trapper, Legion of Superheroes #61(1994)
"What can I say? I guess I outgrew maturity.." - Bob Chipman
It parallels what's happening with the X-MEN in the Marvel world these days. Times and tastes change.
I again refer to a Chinese proverb: "He who has the advantage today will not necessarily have the advantage tomorrow." In 1984, did it look like the X-MEN and TEEN TITANS juggernauts could ever be stopped? A generation has passed in the interim.
Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)
Buried Alien - THE FASTEST POST ALIVE!
First CBR Appearance (Historical): November, 1996
First CBR Appearance (Modern): April, 2014
"In any time, there will always be a need for heroes." - the Time Trapper, Legion of Superheroes #61(1994)
"What can I say? I guess I outgrew maturity.." - Bob Chipman
X-MEN has always been a stronger overall brand than TEEN TITANS, even back in the glory days of both franchises during the 1980s.
But X-MEN has clearly been slipping in terms of its importance to Marvel. Over the past decade, we've seen the dominance of the X-MEN slide away in favor of the AVENGERS. Similarly, TEEN TITANS' dominance has gradually given way to the JUSTICE LEAGUE, and I believe the tide began turning as early as when Grant Morrison took over the JLA franchise in 1996.
Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)
Buried Alien - THE FASTEST POST ALIVE!
First CBR Appearance (Historical): November, 1996
First CBR Appearance (Modern): April, 2014
BTW, what the heck is this thread doing on the Community Forum? Moderators, could we have a change of venue, please?
Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)
Buried Alien - THE FASTEST POST ALIVE!
First CBR Appearance (Historical): November, 1996
First CBR Appearance (Modern): April, 2014