(Why) Does Graphic Storytelling Matter?

I was recently asked by the New York Times Book Review to do a strip in answer to the above question. The first piece below is the sketch they accepted. A finished, colored version is at their site,

here

, also with entries by Jillian Tamaki, Rutu Modan and Ariel Schrag among others. The other three are further ruminations on the subject. Thanks to Parul Sehgal.