The very first stories humans ever recorded were built not of words, but of images: drawn in caves, mapped out in constellations, rendered through sculpture. Even after the development of written language, storytelling with images remained crucial. This focus on the visual can be seen in the early days of bookmaking, for example, in illuminated manuscripts and ornately painted religious texts. Today’s graphic novels look back to this early lineage. They create a dialogue between text and image; in the best examples, the mediums cooperate and overlap to create a fuller, richer work. Many modern illustrated books, such as mainstream superhero comics and manga, are created in partnerships and teams, with the story and drawings done by different people. But here I’ve focused on books that come from a single mind and hand, which is to me where the form is most exciting. The seven books below represent a wide range of writing and art styles—outlandish caricature and precise, realistic line work; satirical prose and devastating narratives; fiction and nonfiction. But each depends on a …