This article (via Reader's Advisor Online) is not only about the benefits to kids of reading comics, but also a short history of comics themselves. Despite the association of comics with children, the article says they were originally developed for adults.
According to Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at the University of Illinois, "Comics were originally an adult medium, since newspapers reached a primarily adult audience, but they very quickly turned into something that was appropriated by kids. Certainly by the first decade of the 20th century it had become a kids' medium."
There's lots more about the evolution of comics over the years in the article, as well as the occasional mention of the graphic novel.
The article notes that comic book elements--such as frames, thought and speech bubbles, and motion lines--are working their way into more mainstream children's fiction, creating a hybrid format. (Would this essentially be like graphic kids' books?)
According to Tilley, "There has been an increase in the number of comic book-type elements in books for younger children. There's also a greater appreciation among both teachers and librarians for what comics and comic books can bring to the classroom. For example, the National Council of Teachers of English sponsors an instructional Web site called 'Read, Write, Think,' which has a lot of comics-related material. Instructional units like these would have been much more rare 10 years ago."
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