Conceptual metaphor studies in comics reveal that visual elements used in comics are motivated and are based on readers’ day-to-day physical and mental experiences, and they substitute the visual elements found in comics for those experienced in the real world. As described by Kennedy (Perception 11:589–605, 1982 [1]) and Forceville (J Pragmat 43:875–890, 2011 [2]), pictorial runes are abstract visual elements employed primarily in static visual narratives, like comics, to convey abstract information like motion and emotions. Forceville identified and analyzed six pictorial runes in Hergé’s comic album Tintin and the Picaros. The resultant inferences gave way to further research on the identification of new pictorial runes or variations of those previously observed. Our current study explores similar elements employed by Indian comic artists who illustrated for Tinkle, a children's comic book magazine currently published under the Indian comic book publishing house Amar Chitra Katha. We use Forceville's research model to identify and characterize the runes’ form, orientation, location, co-occurrence, and number. The corpus selection also considers artists from different periods to observe variations in representation, personal preference, and cultural specificity. Ultimately, this study aims to verify whether the runes employed by Indian comic artists are motivated or arbitrary and whether certain runes convey specific meanings, as proven in previous studies. The analysis led to the identification of a new rune, ‘swirl’ and different combinations and variations of existing runes was also observed, adding to the catalog of existing runes.