Sadly-Sadly they don't make comics like this anymore.
Jack Cole is a cartooning master and his Plastic Man work is great example of it. In this installment of Plastic Man, Plas takes on a criminal with the ability to break your heart with his sad face. Sadly-Sadly is a great example of semiotics. The exaggerations in his features allows any level of reader to feel sadness for this character. Comics are the best marriage of symbols to express a message, because comics are a blend of words and pictures. Unlike a movie where the audience is taken on a journey, in a comic the reader decides what they focus on and depending on certain exposures to certain symbols will determine how the reader understands each panel on each page.
This comic may be older then most current comic book readers by a huge gap, but anyone who truly loves the medium will appreciated Jack Coles mastery of the medium. This issues is highly recommended as an example of a great comic from the past and can be found in Jack Cole and Plastic Man - Forms Stretched to Their Limits.
Cheers
- Silkcuts