This book is sort of the culmination of a tendency in Alan Moore's work to layer references on top of references and deliver his own take on the work of past authors. Watchmen, Supreme, Lost Girls, and Neonomicon are all examples of this approach. LoEG is a fantastic story and some of Moore's best work, but for him to write stories using the characters and plots of past authors and then criticize other writers for building off of Moore's own past comic book work is the height of hypocrisy.