Final answer:
Hyperbole is the comic technique involving exaggerated, over-the-top actions for comedic effect, commonly used by cartoonists and artists across different mediums from political cartoons to pop art.
Step-by-step explanation:
The comic technique that involves exaggerated actions that are deliberately over the top is known as hyperbole. Hyperbole is a rhetorical device and a type of humor in which aspects of a person, thing, or situation are enhanced beyond reality for comedic effect. Cartoonists often use this technique to make a point by exaggerating physical characteristics or actions. For example, a political cartoon might exaggerate the size of someone's nose to comment on their nosiness or perceived intrusion into others' affairs. Pop art also utilizes hyperbolic elements by imitating industrial printing techniques to critique the mass production mindset of society, as seen in Lichtenstein's precise Benday dots. Additionally, the unfolding of a story in a single frame, a technique used both by memes and historical artists like Masaccio, can create a comic effect through hyperbole and the exaggeration of actions.