First off, I truly enjoyed the Tom Knapp analysis of the novel that ahart9 posted. It’s probably the most interesting take on the book that I’ve read yet! Really insightful — of course, except for the summary!
I also completely agree with ibahabib in that the reading felt a bit “choppy” at times. Yeah, the art is fantastic beyond belief (as is the story/characters), but, for me, some of the pages seemed a bit cluttered with information. I feel that some of the news clippings and segments should’ve been removed — a lot of them are just filler and are never referred to again!
Snigh‘s point about the fact that it would be hard to imagine a publication to “not change with the times” and that “it is interesting to see the implications of fashion, pop culture, and current events on the comic, shows, and movies.” I definitely noticed the same thing while reading — similar to Watchmen, the time period in which it takes place is unmistakable.
Lastly, I feel as though I might be on a similar boat as Michael Gillespie! While I didn’t necessarily feel “distracted,” I certainly found myself continuously “going back so that I could understand what exactly was going on.” However, I always do this — whether it’s watching a film or reading a book, I always look for certain things the first time around (acting, camerawork, shot placement, artwork, scene length) and then rewinding (or flipping pages back) to catch what actually happened story-wise! Don’t get me wrong, though…I always pay attention to the story the first time around. It’s just that there’s just a lot more going on in any piece of work than merely the story.