when it comes to sci fi/fantasy do you prefer a work that tries to be completely unique or something that puts a new twist on an old formula? Maybe somewhere in the middle?

I think how a story is told is much more important to my enjoyment of it than what the story is. 

I recently read Charles Burns Last Look (that collected his 3 part series- Xed out, Hive and Sugar Skull)  It’s him using a mix of slice of life mixed with playing off of Tintin to tell a story that feels like something new.

I think that might be my ideal– you take the tools you know to tell your own story.