Comics use abstraction to convey meaning from "summary" of Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Abstraction is a powerful tool in the hands of the comic artist. By stripping down an image to its essential "meaning," an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can't. A cartoon is simply a drawing, a two-dimensional representation of something three-dimensional. But when we look at a drawing of a face, we don't see a mere representation of a face. We see the idea of a face, a symbol that stands for a face. The simpler the drawing, the more universal it becomes. The less detail there is to latch onto, the more people it can reach. In the world of comics, a drawing of a face can represent anyone or everyone. It becomes a symbol that transcends any one individual. This is why cartoon characters are often so popular. They are abstractions, distilled down to their essence so that they can stand in for anyone. Abstraction is not limited to characters, of course. It can be applied to anything in the comic world. Backgrounds, objects, even words can be abstracted to convey a specific meaning. Consider the classic "swearing" symbols found in comics. They are not realistic representations ...
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