Melkorjunior wrote:
Lol, nearly everything is derivative of something. SIN CITY, in Miller's own words, is a mash-up of Spillane, Chandler, and Hammett. But if Alan Moore writes "fan fic", I'm afraid to ask what everything else in comics is...
The diifference is, Miller didn't use Spillane's or Chandler's or Hammet's characters. Tone is one thing, using other people's characters is quite obviously another. The day Mike Hammer appears in Sin City is the day Miller is writing fan fic.
But, of the previously cited examples, Tom Strong, Watchmen and Promethea are all unique characters.  Yes, they may be inspired by pre-existing archetypes, but it's no different then the obvious riffs that appear in Sin City and others.  And to classify LOEG as the continuing adventures of pre-existing characters is missing the entire point of the work.