I have to admit that comics have not been occupying a lot of my brain space for the past couple of weeks. That is because my husband (and comics collaborator) Brian and I welcomed our first child, Mateo, into the world on January 15. Since then, most of my time and thoughts are occupied with taking care of Mateo and calculating when I can next sleep.

However, when I play with him, I'm reminded of what makes comics so appealing as a medium. A two-week-old isn't exactly up for a game of catch yet, so most of our play consists of staring at each other, making faces and babbling at each other (I use words; he makes charming squeaks and coos). Newborn babies don't have very good sight, but they love to look at faces and can memorize their parents' faces within the first hour after birth. They also like bright, contrasting colors and movement. Mateo is particularly fascinated with a red-and-white fish finger puppet that we move across his field of vision for him to follow with his eyes.

We talk to Mateo as he watches our faces and his toys, combining images and words just as comics do. This kind of play is supposed to be beneficial for a baby's cognitive development, but, really, it's just what comes naturally to us and him.

Reading words is not something hardwired into our brains, according to Maryanne Wolf, the author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. The brain instead adapts innate vision and speech functions to learn reading. Reading images, however, taps into a much more instinctive part of our brains -- one that, with its use of line, implied motion, and (sometimes) color, comics engage perfectly.

I hope Mateo will read comics when he's old enough. Until then, I'll be happy with him reading my face.