Graph Convolutional Networks — The First Great GNN
The graph convolutional network is the "linear regression" of graph deep learning: the simplest architecture worth knowing, the one that made GNNs practical, and the baseline every other method is compared against. It's message passing with the most natural possible aggregation — average your neighbors — and understanding exactly what it does, and where its simplicity bites, is the foundation for everything more sophisticated.
The GCN is the 'logistic regression' of graph deep learning — message passing with the simplest aggregation (degree-normalized averaging), the strong baseline every method is compared against. Why it shines at semi-supervised node classification (label propagation under homophily), and the limits that motivate GraphSAGE and GAT.