Are Graphic Novels Literature?

After much debating, I have decided that I think that graphic novels can be read as literature. At first, I was a little apprehensive to consider graphic novels as literature, because I thought that graphic novels were really just picture books for the older, nerdier demographic. After reading Persepolis and the other comics we were assigned to read, however, my opinion on graphic novels has shifted slightly. I thought that the comics we read did a really good job of expressing raw emotions and telling good stories. I also thought that Persepolis was a really good example of why graphic ovels should be considered literature. This graphic novel told a story almost as adeptly as any other form of prose could, and really had substantial characters. I almost think that the pictures in this novel added an element to the story that most normal novels do not have. I really think that graphic novels shouldbe considered literature, because they do the same thing that any other form of literature does. Graphic novels tell a story, and they take the reader on a journey. This graphic novel touched the reader and expressed more emotions than maybe some other "normal" novels. It is because of this that I think that graphic novels and comics can be considered literature.