Anthropologists have increasingly utilized drawing, specifically comics and graphic narratives, as a mode of inquiry, pedagogy, and communication within the last decade. This trend is part of a broader movement toward multimodal and nontraditional research methods. Anthropologists are integrating drawing practices into their fieldwork and publishing results in long-form graphic narratives. The review situates this "graphic turn" by connecting it to the history of visual anthropology and the field of comics, including graphic memoir and journalism. The analysis explores the unique qualities of drawing and sequential graphics for anthropological research and publication, viewing comics as a dynamic, collaborative, and embodied way of thinking and making. The review also examines what anthropology can offer the medium of comics.

The framework presented positions drawing and graphic narratives not merely as supplementary tools but as central epistemological approaches within anthropology, suggesting a shift in how knowledge is generated and disseminated. This turn suggests that the embodied, visual, and sequential nature of comics offers unique affordances to capture the complexities inherent in anthropological observation, moving beyond traditional textual or purely observational methods. The pattern emerging is a desire to bridge the gap between complex, situated fieldwork data and accessible narrative forms. However, the implications require careful examination: what specific analytical insights are gained from the *form* of the comic (sequence, paneling) versus the *content* of the anthropological insight? The potential tension lies in balancing the expressive power of the medium with the rigorous demands of anthropological inquiry. Further questions arise concerning how the collaborative and embodied nature of comics can be rigorously mapped onto ethnographic method, and what costs or benefits are associated with prioritizing multimodal expression over traditional scholarly structures.