"But then, telling stories in that continuity would take a lot more attention to detail and thoughtfulness than telling stories essentially set in the regular world. And it would probably be less accessible to the casual reader."
I feel the former is a good thing, and I'm not so sure if the latter is true. The details and workings of a comic book universe that's not the generic type don't necessarily have to be dumped on the reader. Then again, I'm not sure I have that good a grasp on the concepts of accessbility and casual readership.
Beyond the fact that I know that calling a work "hermetic" isn't really a compliment.