The first panel I attended at
this year's Potlatch convention was the graphic novels panel, moderated by Ursula LeGuin.
I went partly because I was curious about what Ursual LeGuin thought about graphic novels, and it turns out that Ursula LeGuin wanted to know what we all thought about graphic novels. We had a great big round of recommending titles, starting with the panelists and moving on to the audience.
( Recommended titles and links to webcomics under the cut )That's far from a complete list, but those were the ones that most caught my eye. I think someone compiled a more comprehensive list - I'll post a link if I can find it online.