Complexity

The fabulous Jon Carroll admits he's not much of a fantasy reader, but he's reading Django Wexler's Memories Of Empire, and points out what big fantasies as a class tell us about our culture. You often hear about the dumbing down of American culture and art, but if you look at big fantasies like Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, comics like Watchmen and Sandman and multi-layered TV shows like Buffy, Veronica Mars, and Lost, what they have in common is that they are dense with stories, characters, subplots, worldbuilding. They are popular because they're complex. Now, the given complexity might not be your cup of tea--high fantasy isn't mine, though I do make exceptions--but the fact that people are hot for the complex is encouraging, no?