Understanding comics

Under Mcleod's definition of 'icon' is any image used to represent a person place or idea. icon under this description includes is a umbrella to describe a variety of icons such as symbols for ideas and beliefs, language and numbers as forms of communication and pictures which represents a simulacrum of the subject. pictures compared to other iconographic images have no fixed meaning and are fluid in they're meaning. this variability is related to the level of abstraction or ho much the picture actually represents the subject accurately. the closer in resemblance the picture is to the associated subject the more "realistic' it appears. whereas abstract iconography is all conceptual such as langue; realistic iconography imagery instead goes for a more literal one to one representation of the subject.

as this relates to the human face and the duality of realism and abstraction. McLeod describes how the form of abstraction which we often think of most in pictorial iconography is described as cartoonish. the main aspect the make something cartoonish is the way in which the simplified abstraction is exaggerated in ways in that accentuate certain characteristics of the subject. the picture in a cartoon is simplified to the most essential aspects whilst stylized in a way to amplify those aspects.

People often see faces in objects that adhere to the cartoonish simplified face even going as far to anthropomorphize imamate objects, giving them conceptual traits and features associated with humans. the human face is so "iconic" to us that any approximation or abstracted variation of it is instantly recognizable and even so far as being perceived in objects and non iconography imagery. this makes the spectrum of abstraction to realism in cartoons and and stylized imagery interesting in that the "iconic" aspects of of a individual abstraction or simplification is how certation features are amplified.