History Main / CoversAlwaysLie

* The cover of thepost-apocolyptic story "Superman: Distant Fires" shows Superman apparently leading WonderWoman, [[Shazam Captain Marvel]] and Martian Manhunter into battle. In the actual story, [[spoiler: Captain Marvel has done a HeelFaceTurn and fights against the other heroes.]]

Popular characters who appear in little more than a [[TheCameo cameo]] on the inside can be larger than the main character on the cover. A quiet, contemplative issue can be made to seem like an action-packed frag-fest, and vice-versa. The cover can push for an entirely different [[{{Demographics}} demographic]] than the rest of the work.

In non-graphic literature, it is not uncommon for a female character to be portrayed in a {{Stripperiffic}} outfit when they would wear nothing of the sort in the story. Also, virtually any Speculative Fiction book will have either a rocket or an alien of some sort on the cover, and dragons are commonly used on Fantasy, HighFantasy and SwordAndSorcery books, even if there is no dragon in the story at all. (Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo are particularly noteworthy as artists whose paintings make great book covers, but only occasionally actually relate to the contents of the books.)

* Possibly the example with the biggest chance of emotional scarring: ''{{Narutaru}}''. The back cover of the first English volume describes it as "A rare mix of breathtaking fantasy and gripping action/adventure, filled with imagination, excitement, and delight." Paired with the way everything on the cover depicts the main character happily flying around against a pink background, and you've got a good cover to [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids attract little girls looking for a magical girl series]]. Except for the fact that ''Narutaru'' is actually {{seinen}}, and ''extremely disturbing'' seinen at that. Whoops. (That aforementioned blurb also proves that Dark Horse ''really'' hadn't done their research when they first got hold of the manga...) The opening of the anime [[BaitAndSwitchCredits is even worse]]; not only does it have a super-cute art style and [[SoundtrackDissonance a very upbeat theme song]], but it references some shocking events from later in the series and treats them like a ''joke''. Also, one of the DVD covers features one of the side characters, [[LonelyRichKid Hiroko]], smiling like a typical CheerfulChild. Let's just say she's not quite like that in canon.
* ''FrankenFran''. Dear God, Franken Fran. The author uses {{hentai}}-like covers like [[http://img35.yfrog.com/img35/3964/frankenfranv2cover.jpg this]] for a horror manga that has images like [[http://img197.yfrog.com/img197/6137/78309735.jpg THIS]].

* The cover of ''ThisUglyYetBeautifulWorld'''s manga has lots of fanservicey, yuri undertoned pictures... all of which never come close to happening in the book itself.
* The covers of the ''{{Amanchu}}'' mangas show the girls in [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amanchu!_volume_1.jpg sexy]] [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amanchu!_volume_2.jpg swimwear]]--which never happens in-series. Well, at least the scuba gear still makes sense.
* The box sets and covers of ''VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'' feature characters wearing skimpy clothing they don't wear in the series (and an odd emphasis on implied {{twincest}}, which, while refuted by canon on both sides, is often used for {{fanservice}} in promo pictures) for the first season. The second season's box art is still full of cuteness, often with Rika and Satoko. This, too, is only an accurate representation of about 40% of the series's content. The other 60% is murder.

* The covers of the ''FruitsBasket'' manga, due to the system used to decide who's on the cover (more or less appearance order at least at the start), the character on the cover often doesn't appear much or even at all inside the book. The final two books feature Tohru's father and mother, both of whom are deceased.

* [[http://ancientearthentertainment.com/store/images/dvd/Simoun-Box.jpg The front cover]] of the North American DVD release for ''{{Simoun}}'' featured Neveril and Aeru sort of...hugging? Dancing? Playing patty-cake? Whatever they are doing they are close together and naked, but somehow their embrace has no sexual overtones at all, so the whole thing just looks weird. Also, there is not a single Simoun visible on the front cover, back cover, or spine. The series is '''named''' ''Simoun'' and the machines are nowhere to be found. Without already knowing the background to the series there is no way to determine even what genre the show is, first guess would probably go to MagicalGirl or an {{Ecchi}} series.

* The US cover art for ''InitialD Third Stage'' shows a car that appears for all of 5 minutes of the movie, and the race against said car, despite being on Battle Stage, isn't much of one.

* Many volumes of ''RaveMaster'' have highly nonsensical/comical cover art which has '''absolutely nothing''' to do with the volume's story. One of the weirdest ones involved Haru and friends snowboarding.
* The cover of the first volume of the North American release of ''LightNovel/{{Sukisho}}'' have the title characters holding each other, surrounded by multitudes of bright pink flowers. Seems perfectly innocent, right? Or at least it does until you know [[BoysLove what it's]] [[MindRape about]].

** Some of the VHS covers for the ''{{Pokemon}}'' series itself are misleading as well:

* The cover of the anime ''JyuOhSei'' shows the main character, Thor, in an outfit he never wears, complete with [[RuleOfCool war paint, a headband and sword]].
* ''WanderingSon'' covers show the two {{Transsexual}} characters 'cross-dressing', when in the series they rarely dress up like that (especially the protagonist). The coloring of the characters is often incorrect, retcons and ArtEvolution aside. The back of the first volume shows Maho with ''blond hair'' while the inner artwork at the beginning of the manga shows her with as a brunette.

* ''MiracleGirls'' covers almost always have the characters with incorrect haircolors. The mangaka lampshades this in her omakes, saying that it's due to the printing process and her original images had the correct colors.
* The cover of the ''BurstAngel'' OVA makes it look like a sequel to the TV series. It's actually a PREQUEL, set between a flashback episode and the rest of the series.

* Purposely done with the Japanese version of the SayonaraZetsubouSensei manga as the bookflap blurb describes nonsensical stories that had nothing to do with the actual contents.

* One of two different DVD covers used by CentralParkMedia for the OVA '' Strange Love'' (AKA ''Hen'') depicted two characters kissing, in front of an abstract red/pink background. One of them is the main character (Chizuru), but the black-haired girl is a very minor character with little screentime and is not Chizuru's love interest -- the picture was taken from an ImagineSpot scene that explains that Chizuru isn't attracted to her or any other women, [[IfItsYouItsOkay with one exception]].
* The vhs cover art for ''TheEnchantedJourney'' features Glicko and Nono as giant anthropomorphic chipmunks walking on their hind legs, carrying backpacks, and having human like hands, in the film however neither are anthropomorphic in any way.

* The Parkfield Playtime release of ''Codename: {{Robotech}}'' in the UK. As well as the terrible day-glo cover art which doesn't match the original art style at all and is obviously meant to scream [[AnimationAgeGhetto "we are marketing this for kids"]], but the character on the front doesn't even appear in the feature: it's the adult Dana Sterling from ''The Masters'' segment [[note]]a.k.a. Jeanne Franciax from ''SouthernCross''[[/note]], when the feature covers ''The Macross Saga'' only and doesn't even get to the point where baby Dana is born! Mercilessly parodied in [[http://www.anime-games.co.uk/VHS/anime/codename-robotech.php this online review.]]

* The ''Emma Frost'' series was a cute teen drama about a younger version of the title character pitched at a mostly female demographic. This was undermined because the covers were pieces of absurd {{fanservice}} featuring the adult Emma in [[http://www.freewebs.com/emma_frost/Emma-Frost-5-new-background.jpeg the skimpier]] costume she wore in ''New X-Men'' - and if you're familiar with her time as White Queen, you know that's not an easy bar to reach. (Warning, '''{{NSFW}}'''.)

* The trope was acknowledged in the nostalgic comic-oriented novel ''The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay'', when a character finds the latest issue of ''The Escapist'' has a cover in which the eponymous hero is being executed by his own alter ego; the character is mildly intrigued but knows that the event will likely turn out to be a dream or an alternate reality or some other cheap trick, if it in fact appears in the issue at all.
** That may have been directly inspired by the [[TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Superman cover that had Superman stand around mocking Clark Kent as Kent got beaten up. As it turned out, this was just a metaphor for the fact that Kent had given up being Superman.
* In the issue of the original {{Justice League|OfAmerica}} where the first Mr. Terrific dies, Franchise/{{Batman}} is pointing at Mr. Terrific's killer, with RedTornado, PowerGirl, WonderWoman, and Jay Garrick (Flash I) behind him. The murderer is [[spoiler: Jay Garrick, though [[NotHimself he was possessed at the time and it wasn't really his fault.]]]]
* The cover of ''Amazing SpiderMan #75'' is "Death Without Warning" and shows Spider-Man mourning over a dead body. Nothing like that happens in the comic. What's more ''nobody in the story dies at all''. Although to be fair, one villain does get de-aged seemingly into nothingness, so it did appear that he was dead.
* An old issue of ''CaptainAmerica'' promises that [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/4/16291-2400-18158-1-captain-america_super.jpg Cap's partner the Falcon, all of S.H.I.E.L.D., and some random newbie heroes turn on him, all at once.]] He does fight S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and later the random newbie heroes, but it is neither all at once nor does Comicbook/TheFalcon join in.
** The very first issue of ''Captain America Comics'' shows CA punching out AdolfHitler. Hitler doesn't appear in the comic (although various other Nazis do, including the Red Skull).
* ArchieComics usually just display a single gag panel which has nothing to do with any of the stories within.
** A glaring example of this trope, however, is one for the Betty and Veronica Double Digest issue 128. On the cover, there is a picture of a phone being held by one of the girls, and you can see an image of Archie and Cheryl Blossom in the same image. There's a subtext on the side of this cover that says "Cheryl's back... look out 4 Trbl!" implying that this is the opening story. ''Not one single story in that book contains anything regarding Cheryl.''
* SheHulk covers look [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/787/99828-18293-107082-2-she-hulk_super.jpg like this]] and the interior art is [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f3SZ5Tu916o/R3J-apa55cI/AAAAAAAADbw/sbjasHIPgRc/s1600-h/SHEHULK024_int-8.jpg like this]]
* The Marvel issue of ''"ComicBook/WhatIf..."'' that dealt with the Fallen Son storyline had a cover of CaptainAmerica carrying an apparently dead IronMan in a dramatically mourning way. The contents of the comic... weren't nearly so touching.
** Many issues of ''What If...?'' have covers that pose more dramatic questions than the ones actually addressed in the issue, and often emphasize fairly minor parts of the story. Take, for instance, vol. 2 #5, "What If the Vision had Destroyed the Avengers?" The Vision's role in the story is rather limited -- the issue is really about what would have happened if Wonder Man had survived his first encounter with the Avengers.
** Vol. 1 #39, "What If [[TheMightyThor Thor]] battled [[ConanTheBarbarian Conan]]?" is the question asked on the cover, which depicts Thor and Conan in aggressive stances with weapons raised at each other. Inside, the title page instead asks "What if Thor of Asgard ''had met'' Conan the Barbarian?", and the two fight only briefly before becoming the best of friends.
** The cover of What if: AvengersVsX-Men #2 features Thor, Vision, Nova, Ms. Marvel, and Black Panther becoming an alternate variation of the Phoenix 5. In the actual comic, the Phoenix force attacks Thor, and only possesses Nova, Ms. Marvel, and Vision for a few seconds before abandoning them to turn Hope Summers into the Dark Phoenix.

* Most WorldWarII era MarvelComics have Captain America, Human Torch, and {{Sub-Mariner}} having epic battles against the Axis on the cover. The stories themselves though have none of those and are usually about ThoseWackyNazis having their plans for world domination foiled by the heroes.
* Malibu Comics used to have a major villain named Rafferty, whose gimmick was that he came with an editorial promise: [[TonightSomeoneDies every time he appeared, a superhero would die]]! This led to a slew of issues featuring him, many of which showed him threatening a major character on the cover. Too bad those were hardly ever the characters he actually killed. In fact, in most cases he just killed a random walk-on character who had been created just so Rafferty could off him.

* [[Comicbook/{{SonicTheHedgehog}} Sonic the Hedgehog]] is absolutely awful about this. Just about every cover for the past decade has depicted some scene of coolness and bravado (or [[Main/{{Fanservice}} fanservice]]) that doesn't happen in the issue at all.

* The solicited cover for ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'' (vol. 4) #19 showed TheVision from ''YoungAvengers'' as part of the new team that was being assembled in the wake of ''Comicbook/FearItself''. When the actual issue itself dropped, the cover had been changed to show the ''original'' Vision in place of his successor. The ruse was meant to both hide the fact that Creator/BrianBendis was resurrecting the original Vision in that issue, and that the teen Vision was slated to be killed off in the finale of ''Comicbook/TheChildrensCrusade''.
* Done so blatantly that it almost looks like a parody in ''{{Marville}}'' miniseries. Since the 2nd issue every cover featured an all-but-naked [[LadyNotAppearingInThisGame girl who never appeared in story itself]]. #1 also had a {{Mecha}} cover.

* ''TheMuppetShow: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson'' has two. The most egregious since it's used for the cover of the TPB is Peg-Leg Wilson in a ghost-like form laughing maniacally while the cast looks on in shock and horror, seeming to imply the story arc is some sort of ghost haunting. Peg-Leg Wilson appears on one page in that issue, and it's just a visual narration since Gonzo is reading about his history. Another cover has Kermit and Kismet the Toad in a face-to-face confrontation. Turns out [[spoiler: Kermit hired Kismet for a closing act intended to feature Kermit lookalikes (most of which never showed up), and has absolutely no reason to be mad at him at any point in the series]]. The weirdest part of these examples is that the writer/artist of the series also does the cover art.
* The cover for the JLA story ''Justice For All'' depicts Superman and [[{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] fighting while the {{Justice League|OfAmerica}} and {{Justice Society|OfAmerica}} look on in horror. In the story itself, the two heroes' "fight" consists of Marvel knocking out Superman with two punches to prevent him from following Marvel into the 5th dimension.
* Issue 9 of the post-''Rebirth'' ''GreenLantern'' series features Hal Jordan and Batman in the middle of a fight with each other. It's true that Batman does punch Hal in the issue...as a lighthearted revenge for something that happened in an earlier issue. Most of the issue is the exact opposite of the cover, featuring Hal and Batman becoming friends again.
* The cover of one of the ''BlackestNight'' issues of ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' features an army of zombified Titans rushing toards the reader. The hands of BlueBeetle and ComicBook/{{Static}} can also clearly be seen, preparing to fight said undead heroes. None of the characters on the cover appear, and the entire issue is instead about Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}}'s relationship with his children.
* Sal Buscema was fond of this when he was the artist for [[ComicBook/{{Spider-Man}} Spectacular Spider-Man]]. Once issue had the Rhino squeezing the life out of Spider-Man on the cover with a blurb indicating that Peter was gonna receive AFateWorseThanDeath. In the issue, Spider-Man is infuriated due to the machinations of [[MagnificentBastard Harry Osborn]], the second Green Goblin and ends up giving Rhino a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown that leaves the villain crying for mercy. Another issue a couple years later show the Green Goblin gloating over the bodies of Spider-Man and the ComicBook/{{X-Men}}. While the X-Men did appear in that issue (it was the final chapter of a three-part storyarc about something different), they never fight the Green Goblin. Instead, Harry Osborn simply returns toward the end of the issue, setting the stage for the next arc.
* In the six-part SpiderMan story "The Assassin Nation Plot", one issue had a cover showing Spidey confronting Sabertooth. Sabertooth did appear in the story, but he and Spidey never met; Captain America and Silver Sable fought the villain, while Spidey was hundreds of miles away fighting terrorists. (WordOfGod claims that Todd [=McFarlaine=] penciled the cover before the script was finalized, and while he knew Sabertooth would appear, he didn't know in what regard. The cover was kept because the editors liked it so much.)

* One ''SonicTheComic'' cover prominently featured Sonic's long-lost brother Tonic standing alongside Amy Rose. In the comic, Amy and Tonic barely interact, and "Tonic" is exposed as [[ShapeShifting Metamorphia]] (''again'') within a few pages.

* Dave Dorman's cover for the comic adaptation of Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/BatmanReturns'' shows Batman running toward the viewer as the Batmobile explodes in flames behind him; the Batmobile does not explode in either this adaptation or the movie itself. (Then again, Dorman is fond of painting fire and explosions and always tries to work them into all of his comic-book covers.) Also, the Batman on the cover looks about ten years younger than MichaelKeaton.
* A terrible habit Marvel is getting into these days is releasing variant covers for their comics to promote films. For example, around the time of the [[Film/{{Thor}} movie]], many comics started getting variant covers with TheMightyThor or his supporting cast doing something completely unrelated to the issue.
** Made funnier (and more obvious) with any covers involving Loki, since he's about 10-13 years old physically (it's DependingOnTheArtist) right now. You see a grown-up Tom Hiddleson Loki? It has ''nothing'' to do with the story.
* Lampshaded with the cover to Star Brand #12. The cover has the X-Men, but the bottom left-hand corner has a caption saying ''The X-Men in the New Universe? Not bloody likely!''
* The covers to Batman and Robin 23-25 all show Jason Todd in the Red Hood costume he wore during GrantMorrison's run. The problem however is that Jason never wears it, in fact he dons a new costume at the end of the second issue. Which makes the [[http://www.dccomics.com/media/product/1/8/18973_400x600.jpg third cover]] seem like a TakeThat in hindsight.

* Sometimes covers for "big" story lines tend to exaggerate just how many people are involved. Such as in the book "Batman: Battle for the Cowl", it showed characters such as BatWoman on the cover even though she was neither seen or mentioned at all in the storyline.
* {{Cerebus}} did a parody of this phenomenon by introducing a character named Wolveroach, an obvious spoof of Wolverine. Wolveroach showed up on three consecutive covers of Cerebus, in various badass action poses...while inside the comic itself, he spent all three issues in a coma. After he woke up, he stopped appearing on the covers.

** This was parodied in a JusticeLeagueOfAmerica cover, which shows a group of weak villains standing atop the corpses of the entire League. One of them looks directly at the reader and says "We don't ''really'' beat them... but it's a heck of a cover, isn't it?"
* ''{{Deadpool}}'' [[http://gammasquad.uproxx.com/2011/05/deadpools-10-best-fourth-wall-breaks#page/5 vol. 1, #26]]

* With the Swamp Thing ongoing series beginning in 2011, the first four covers depict the titular SwampThing. The only problem is that, for the first several issues of that run, Alec Holland wasn't even the Swamp Thing. It's only later that he actually changes into the Swamp Thing. The covers depict events that, while vaguely related to the contents of the issue, are horribly inaccurate.

* {{Spider-Man}} 694 features the end of a story arc involving 'Alpha' a teenager imbued with potentially the strongest powers in the Marvel universe thanks to an experiment by Peter gone awry. As well as these powers, he's also become a selfish jackass, causing Peter to try and remove his powers before something bad happens. The cover of course features Spidey and Alpha high in the air, ready to beat the other into a pulp, with the words 'Battle Of The Half Century' hovering over them. The actual book? Well, they and the Avengers fight Terminus, but not a single punch is thrown between Alpha and Spidey; there isn't even a shouting match for them to exaggerate.
* One of the {{Spider-Man}} graphic novels, the one collecting the ''ComicBook/EndsOfTheEarth'' storyline, does this in a relatively minor way. It should be obvious that Ock isn't actually going to fight Spidey in open space above the Earth and that that's just a cool cover, but Spidey is seen on the cover in his classic garb, when he spends 90% of the book in his new Spidey-armor, and only wears his classic outfit in the first book in the collection (and it's not used to fight Ock).
* Shortly after the [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Batmobile]] was introduced in the comics (Detecive #362) following the Creator/AdamWest movie and TV series, (the first of which looked nothing like the Lincoln Futura Batmobile), it [[http://pics.imcdb.org/0ge14/145900-BatMobile4.jpg slowly started to resemble]] the Futura more and more (Detective #371 and #375, though later issues change it to look like a Jaguar E-Type), the cover of Detective #375 has Robin drving the Batmobile and Batman waving to a crowd. The Batmobile does not appear in that issue.

* If you've never read GarthEnnis' ''{{Preacher}}'', the cover of the first issue can easily fool you into thinking that the hero, [[BadassPreacher Reverend Jesse Custer]], is the primary antagonist of the series (or at least a VillainProtagonist) even though he's one of the most sympathetic protagonists that you're likely to find in a VertigoComics book. How misleading is it? See for yourself: it's currently the page image for SinisterMinister, a trope that Jesse is emphatically ''not'' an example of.

* Due to the mediocre sales of ''Film/WonderWoman'', the cover artist for the DVD of ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanApocalypse'' was barred from showing Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} in her iconic costume. Instead, an image of a BrainwashedAndCrazy Supergirl clad in a {{Stripperific}} slave outfit was used. The film's female director was ''not'' pleased.
* The [[http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m128/redXpiXieXblack/Watership%20Down/CopyofWatership_Down_Dutch.jpg child-friendly cover]] of the animated ''WatershipDown''. (The original cover showed a silhouetted rabbit [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watership_down.jpg screaming in pain]].)
* The video cover to ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie'', which depicts Tom chasing Jerry as he usually does (which [[InNameOnly they barely actually do in the movie]]) with Droopy in the background and none of the movie's SpotlightStealingSquad anywhere in sight, looks like it could be the cover to '''any''' ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' video.
** Although the poster showed the evil fat lady storming in the background.
* The cover of the American DVD of ''WesternAnimation/HelpImAFish'' not only calls it A Fish Tale, it also shows [[http://www.theneitherworld.com/hiaf/images/aftcover.jpg really bad 3D renderings]] of a few of the characters, ('''WARNING!''' The linked image may cause your eyes to bleed!) making it look like a crappy ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' or ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' rip-off when it's actually a decent, Creator/DonBluth-esque, [[ConspicuousCG mostly 2D]] film.
** Even weirder, the American cover flatly says "Creator/AlanRickman" above the title (the original cover said "Featuring the voices of Alan Rickman and Terry Jones"), making Rickman seem like the lead role. To make matters worse, Rickman's character isn't even ''shown'' on the U.S. cover!

* The [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116583/ cover]] for Disney's ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' makes what is widely considered one of the darkest films in the DisneyAnimatedCanon seem like a light-hearted, family-friendly romp. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyS3weMlxLA It's not]].
* The second [[TheBeano Beano]] video, ''Beano Videostars'', included Roger the Dodger on the original VHS cover, even though he's not on the actual video. Possibly because his checkered jersey made him too hard to animate.
* ''TurtlesForever'': [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d6/Turtles_Forever_Poster.PNG the original poster]] has Tokka and Rahzar, who turn out to be {{Advertised Extra}}s.
* ''TheBraveLittleToaster'' was marketed as much less scary than it actually was. This goes so far that the screencaps on the back of the VHS/DVD are ''not even from the film''. One of them even showed Toaster ''high-fiving'' the Master! (In the film, the fact that they were alive was always kept a secret). The artwork on the back depicts the oh-so-serious waterfall scene, except that the title character has a goofy smile on his face after having made it to the other ledge, waiting for his friends to follow suit! (In truth, they all fell before even the toaster could make it across.) Oddly enough, the original poster showed three screencaps from the film, two from the NightmareSequence and one from the dark forest scene.

* On the DVD cover of ''A Boy Named [[{{Peanuts}} Charlie Brown]]'', Lucy clutches Charlie Brown's arm and stares up at him adoringly. Never mind that her horribly cruel tormenting of him is the whole point of the movie, and that she isn't nice to him for a second...

* The poster for ''BeavisAndButthead Do America'' shows them riding motorcycles. Which they don't even come close to doing in the movie.

* When the made-for-TV live-action ''MyPetMonster'' movie was released on VHS. The cover showed the actual toy that the movie was named after (and loosely based on), but the monster in the actual movie looks nothing like that.
* The [[http://www.impawards.com/1993/bronx_tale_ver1.html poster and tagline]] of RobertDeNiro's ''ABronxTale'' completely lies about the plot, making the movie seem like an outright war between De Niro's and Chazz Palminteri's characters (an ordinary father and a local crime boss, respectively) over the life of the former's son, who is apparently getting caught up in the latter's evil crime syndicate. Their rivalry is barely noticeable, and they spent a mere two scenes together. The crime boss isn't a bad guy either: the movie is actually a ComingOfAgeStory, and he functions as the son's mentor, repeatedly advising him not to follow him in his criminal lifestyle and making sure he doesn't get himself into trouble. Also, at no point in the movie does the son [[StuffBlowingUp have to run away from a huge explosion]].
* The most recent [[http://cimages.swap.com/images/dvd/39/242439.jpg dvd cover]] for the boxing film BlackCloud. Although Cloud is the main character, of the four characters displayed he is pushed all the way to the back. Tim Mc Graw and Ricky Schroder occupy more of the cover than the protagonists.

* FromDuskTillDawn: The 2011 Echo Bridge release of the film on Blu-ray mistakenly included a picture of Rebecca Gayheart on the back cover even though she doesn't actually appear in the film. The picture was taken from the prequel "Hangman's Daughter".

* The Hong Kong film ''InfernalAffairs'' is a subtle thriller with four male leads, but all the female leads are as window dressing. Unfortunately for the international poster, a random chick with a gun who never appears in the movie was added for titillation. The poster looks a campy Bond knockoff instead of a cop movie.
* The DVD cover for the MikeJudge movie ''OfficeSpace'' features Creator/JenniferAniston on all 3 pictures on the back and the spine, but she's only on screen for barely 1/4 of the movie.

* Creator/LivTyler in the DVD of ''ThatThingYouDo''
* The back of the DVD cover for ''{{Tootsie}}'' features an image of DustinHoffman's character, Michael, kissing his coworker Julie while in full [[WholesomeCrossdresser Dorothy Michaels]] regalia, even though the two never kiss at any time while he is dressed as a woman.
* The ''Film/{{Wishmaster}}'' DVD cover suggests the villain is a vampire; he's actually a genie.

* The cover of a live-action adaptation of ''AnimalFarm'' made the movie seem like any other nice, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids kid-friendly]] movie about {{talking animal}}s. The plot summary on the back even used words like "delightful" and "charming" in its description...

* Look at [[http://www.ameibo.com/productimage/2487_153/the-little-shop-of-horrors.jpg this]] video cover for ''Film/TheLittleShopOfHorrors''. What's wrong with this picture? JackNicholson's part is only about two minutes long, and the plant isn't even in that scene.
* The girl standing with Nicolas Cage in the movie poster for ''Film/ValleyGirl'' is not actually the titular character played by Deborah Foreman. WordOfGod says that the model in the poster is the actress who actually plays the ex-girlfriend of Cage's character. A budget DVD release of ''Film/ValleyGirl'' with ''TheSureThing'' (as the ''Totally Awesome 80s Double Feature: The Sure Thing / Valley Girl'') has Foreman's head obviously Photoshopped onto the other actress' body on the front cover.
* The posters and most promotional material for ''Air America'' depict it as a light-hearted buddy romp. The poster is Creator/MelGibson and RobertDowneyJr smiling at the audience. However, this is a film set during TheVietnamWar, about opium trading and corrupt generals, and it's also based on a non-fiction book.
* When ''TheChroniclesOfNarnia: TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' hit the cinemas, the BBC rereleased their direct to TV version on DVD with ... artwork really resembling the Cinema version.
* Look at the 2006 [[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000HT3PFG/sr=1-1/qid=1267382437/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=130&s=dvd&qid=1267382437&sr=1-1 DVD cover]] of RodgersAndHammerstein's ''{{Carousel}}'', and you'll see Gordon Mcrae whisper sweet nothings into Shirley Jones's ear, as they stand near a carousel while green grass grows and colorful balloons float into the sky. Watch the actual movie, and you'll be treated to a musical about a ''DomesticAbuser'' who [[DisappearedDad dies during his wife's pregnancy]]. Also, when they meet at that carousel, no grass is growing, no balloons float into the sky, and [[TheyJustDidntCare the sun doesn't even shine, since it's nighttime]].
* The movie about Norwegian War Hero Max Manus, a muted, tense story about the Norwegian Resistance during WW2 and the eponymous character, had a fairly indicative poster and cover in the original release. The international cover has [[http://www.improveyourfuture.co.uk/blog/content/binary/maxmanus.jpg this picture]] instead, from a very brief backstory action scene. Not quite lying as much as stretching the truth a lot, though.

* The cover for ''MazesAndMonsters'' makes it appear to be a dark fantasy story, with a picture of a labyrinth, a dark tower, and a night sky filled with bats. Turns out it's just an {{Anvilicious}} story based on the D&D scare of the early '80s. Also, the picture of Tom Hanks on the cover was taken years after the movie was made.

* The film poster and DVD cover for 2007's ''Film/{{Atonement}}'' show KeiraKnightley and [[JamesMcAvoy James [=McAvoy=]]], making it seem as if the film is about star-crossed lovers. The ''main character'', however, is not featured on the cover.
* The British and French DVD covers for ''Film/ValhallaRising'' show a charging [[TheHorde viking horde]]. It's also sold in 2-DVD boxset alongside ''Film/{{Outlander}}''. The film is actually a [[LeFilmArtistique slow-paced and hypnotic art film]] that is more in line with ''AguirreTheWrathOfGod'' than the historic action flick it's presented to be. Some covers show the main character set against a desolate landscape, which is keeping more in line with the actual plot.

* All of the marketing for ''ScaryMovie 3'' makes it look like Denise Richards has a prominent role in the film as a love interest to CharlieSheen (they were married at the time) or playing a role similar to Carmen Electra's. She has a grand total of one scene in the movie (in a flashback parodying a scene from ''Film/{{Signs}}'') and adds no importance to the film.
* The cover to ''Film/RedRidingHood'' mentions GaryOldman on top billing next to Creator/AmandaSeyfried (who's on the cover), and next to the two hearthrobs of the movie, with no figure of Oldman at all on the cover.

* The DVD covers issued for the Korean horror movies ''The Wig'' and ''Voice'' are given bad direct to video horror covers, with a disturbing picture of a bloody hand reaching out from a stiched-up shaved head, and a bloody hand coming out of some woman's mouth, respectably. Both are advertised as unrated, even though both movies could probably just as easily get an R-rating as most. The cover to Voice is perhaps the most unreliable one ever seen, as it's unrelated to the movie's plot; the movie is a weird ghost/killer movie with some blood and gore, but no hands coming out of people's mouths. Likewise, there is also no hand coming out of anybody's stitched-up head in Wig, just a killer hair piece.

* The American release of the Australian film ''{{Cosi}}'' depicts it as being a ''MurielsWedding''-type comedy with ToniCollette as the star. The film is actually a bit darker than that (it's set in a mental institution and Collette plays a recovering drug addict mistakenly placed in one) and Collette is the third-billed actor in the film (Ben Mendelsohn and Barry Otto are the stars, a writer and director who are staging a talent show that becomes "Cosi Fan Tutte").
* The [[FilmPosters Film Poster]] for ''Film/FreddysDeadTheFinalNightmare'' came with the tagline, "They saved the best... for last." A matter of opinion, probably, but most would agree that, compared to the rest of the franchise, the movie was [[LighterAndSofter rather tame]].
* After ''Film/CasinoRoyale'' came out, Daniel Craig's earlier film ''LayerCake'' was given a new DVD release. Instead of the original cover, which showed a group photo of some of the film's ensemble cast, the new cover shows Craig in a very JamesBond-style pose holding a Luger pistol. He does carry that pistol in the film...for exactly one scene. And he does pose like that...as a gag (and, again, only in that one scene). The cover also features an example of BillingDisplacement: Sienna Miller is the only other cast member now deemed worthy to appear alongside Craig. In the film, she has a very minor role (which was reflected in the credits: she was listed third from the last in the opening titles). But she had become more famous since the film's original release due to her role in the remake of ''Film/{{Alfie}}'', so there she is.

* The 90's indie film ''Spank The Monkey'' has a cover depicting the typical twenty-something slacker known to star in this sort of movie, making it seem to be a SexComedy in the vein of ''{{Clerks}}'', possibly about having ADateWithRosiePalms. In reality, it is a DarkComedy about ParentalIncest.

* The [[http://www.imdb.com/media/rm925546496/tt1454029 cover]] for ''TheHelp'' looks like some kind of awkward romantic comedy. It certainly does not suggest a serious period drama about a young woman secretly discovering what life is like for black maids in the 1960's and trying to expose the truth whilst avoiding persecution by her racist peers.

* The DVD cover to ''StandAndDeliver'' showed what many people thought that Lou Diamond Phillips was the main character, but in reality it was Edward James Olmos.

* The cover of ''BrassedOff'' makes you think you're about to watch a romantic comedy starring EwanMcGregor and... some woman history has forgotten. They both are in the film, but their love story is one of five equally important plots, which deal with poverty, violence, destruction and death.
* Not as major as most of these, but early promotional images for ''ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' implied Lucas Lee was the leader of the League of Evil Exes, as he is depicted in the center of the group and looming directly over [[TheHero Scott]]. Later promos used the proper character for the position, Gideon Graves.
* Posters of ''TheLongGoodbye'' show Marlowe [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/80/Longposter.jpg/220px-Longposter.jpg holding a Colt snub nose revolver with the tagline "Nothing says goodbye like a bullet"]], despite neither showing up in the film (the line was from an early draft), and the DVD release shows him [[http://img.anyclip.com/posters/tOUsJKheM_200.jpg holding a Beretta 92SB]]. He only uses one gun in the entire film, a Smith and Wesson Model 10, at the very end.
* ''TrueGrit'' was re-released on DVD around the time of the Coen Brothers remake, with a monochrome gray tone and typography similar to the latter.

* The posters and DVD cover for ''Soul Survivors'' had {{Eliza Dushku}} in the centre placed in front of three other cast members, and a demonic evil eyed face above them, implying that the film was a [[FinalDestination Final Destination-ish]] supernatural 'slasher' film with Eliza Dusku as the FinalGirl. In the film itself, Eliza Dushku doesn't play the main character. The main character is played by Melissa Sagemiller, who is in the background on the cover. The events in the film are a bit random and confusing, but the plot, such as it is, isn't so much a supernatural 'slasher' film as a ghost story set around a car accident.

* [[http://www.randytusha.com/auctions/dash/8-24-12-239.JPG This VHS cover]] of ''Theatre/{{Julius Caesar}}'' starring Charlton Heston. The problem: the cover art proclaims that Heston plays Caesar; he actually plays ''Marc Antony''. Just because he has top billing doesn't generally mean he played the title character.

* The DVD cover for the ''SesameStreet'' movie, ''[[TheMovie Follow That Bird]]'', Elmo is featured prominently on the cover. The film was made before [[EnsembleDarkhorse Elmo became a major character]] and only appears as an extra towards the very end.

* Taken to magnificent extremes during the 80's with VHS home video releases. Two excellent examples are [[http://www.vhsisland.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/frogs.jpg cover of the]] ''Film/{{Frogs}}'', a film not featuring giant man-eating frogs at all, and ''[[http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv139/intruder2k/survlast.jpg Survivors of the Last Race]]'' which at no time features anything at all on the front cover and instead is a film about a small group of bad actors trapped in a fallout bunker.
* The DVD cover of ''{{Baseketball}}'' depicts Jenny [=McCarthy=] in between Trey Parker and Matt Stone, seemingly implying that the film is a romantic comedy with sports elements. In actuality, [=McCarthy's=] character works for the villain and is never in a relationship with the two characters (Yasmine Bleeth played the love interest).

* The entire print campaign and video covers for ''AlmostFamous'' depict it as starring Kate Hudson. The actual lead is Patrick Fugit (with PhilipSeymourHoffman's character having a lot of presence as Fugit's character's idol) with Hudson being a glorified supporting character. I guess the studio decided that selling it as a generic 1970's movie instead of the semi-biopic of the director was an easier sell (either way, the film was still an expensive flop despite critical acclaim).

* The famous poster for ''FallingDown'' shows Michael Douglas' character in a white shirt and tie with a shotgun in one hand and a briefcase in the other. He is never actually seen with that combination in the movie.
* The poster for the DTV movie ''The Adventures of Young Van Helsing'' features the eponymous {{Hero}}, his LoveInterest and a tough looking black guy. This gives the impression that they are the three main characters of the film, when in fact the last guy is the drummer in the main character's band, appears in maybe two scenes, and neither have any impact on the film's plot.

* The DVD cover of the '80s heavy-metal horror film ''Trick or Treat'' has Gene Simmons' and Ozzy Osbourne's [[FloatingHeadSyndrome floating heads]], and their names [[BilledAboveTheTitle above the title]]. However, each one of them has a mere cameo in the film.
* The poster for ''Film/{{Oblivion 2013}}'' shows a waterfall cascading down by the Empire State Building, but in the film is is buried up to the observation deck all around. [[http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4179469056/tt1483013?ref_=tt_ov_i Another poster]] shows the George Washington Bridge free and at an angle, while in the movie it is half-buried and standing straight.
* Yun-Fat Chow is featured on the DVD cover of ''[[PiratesOfTheCarribean Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End]]'' and is even given top billing along with the other four leads in the film, but his character hardly does a thing in the movie.
* If one is to see the mexican advertisements for ''JackAndJill'', you would believe that EugenioDerbez had a bigger role in the movie, since he's predominantly featured next to AdamSandler.
* One of the posters for ''KissoftheSpiderWoman'' makes it look like, as Cracked put it, "a ghost-faced monster lady who catches people in a giant spider web and eats them to death, or a superheroine with powers comparable to Spider Woman breaking up cartel supply rings in the South American jungle". In reality, it's a film about two political prisoners sharing a cell in Brazil.

* The international posters and US home video covers for ''Film/PainAndGain'' put the Sorina character with MarkWahlberg and DwayneJohnson, despite the fact that the character appears for less than 10 minutes and has little to do with the film's plot. The US poster sold the film much more accurately (and paired Anthony Mackie with the two leads).

* The MilesVorkosigan series by LoisMcMasterBujold is subject to this. Many feature a tall, handsome man. The main character is very short, with visible scarring on his face and noticeable bone deformities.
* Several of the later books in the ''{{Goosebumps}}'' series.
** Especially notable (and from an early book, no less) is the original ''Night of the Living Dummy'', whose cover depicts the dummy Slappy looking foreboding. In reality, Slappy appears to be nothing more than a normal dummy for 99.9% of the book, with the title character being a completely different dummy named Mr. Wood. Slappy ''also'' being alive is, in fact, the TwilightZoneTwist ''on the very last page''. He is, however, the villain in the sequels, whose covers correctly depict him as such.
* The back-of-book blurb for ''Literature/{{Empire}}'' is so misleading it's tempting to call it false advertisement.

* A three-books-in-one edition of the first three books in the ''AnneOfGreenGables'' series shows on the front cover a photograph of a blonde teenage girl wearing a plaid shirt and leaning on a haystack with her arm twisting back her loose hair suggestively. This extremely inaccurate, considering that the books were written from 1908-1915 (thus no plaid shirts and "come hither" looks), and that '''Anne is iconically shown as a redhead with braids'''. The cover has received massive backlash from fans, who consider it an insult instead of a tribute to the original stories.

** We don't know ''what'' wack-ass version of ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' the illustrator for the [[http://gallery.the-leaky-cauldron.org/picture/1207 cover of the Italian edition]] read (it shows Harry playing chess with a human-sized mouse, while wearing a mouse-shaped hat), but we'd like to know [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs what they were on and if they're willing to share]].
** The ''Chamber of Secrets'' one, from the same person, shows Harry flying on a giant book and wearing a ''crocodile''-shaped hat.

* The French edition of Creator/TerryPratchett and NeilGaiman's ''Literature/GoodOmens'' ("De bons presages") used to feature [[http://www.progx.org/deliciouslibrary/images/771857AA-AC17-11D9-84A4-000D933B18F6-140.png a small blond child looking nervously over his shoulder at a giant crocodile-dragon-thing]]. Which is in the book precisely nowhere. (The current cover is much more accurate.)

* The books in Steven Brust's [[{{Dragaera}} Vlad Taltos]] series all have a picture of a jhereg (presumably Loiosh) on the cover, and all of them have four legs and wings but jhereg are more bat-like than dragon-like. On occasion, Vlad shows up with Loiosh, always clean-shaven instead of sporting his signature mustache.
* AnneMcCaffrey's ''[[TheShipWho PartnerShip]]'' features an astronaut walking next to a female humanoid hologram being projected from a device that floats next to him as he walks away from a spaceship, giving the impression that the Brain Ship of the novel gains the ability to project an image of herself. This never happens. The blurb on the back cover also misidentifies the main character and misses the plot entirely.
* One edition of PhilipKDick's ''The Eye in the Sky'' has the best, most pulpy cover ever, featuring a man in futuristic space-clothes getting zapped by a laser. That any laser zapping happens in {{Now}} (the 50s) is neither here nor there. The blurb on the back suggests that the writer read only three pages of the book; the first, the last and a random page in the middle. It claims [[spoiler: the Eye in the Sky will never let them go, as if the whole book is about escaping the Eye. In fact, the Eye is escaped relatively near the beginning and the whole book is an exploration of prejudice and the views people hold deep down.]]

* The covers of TrudiCanavan's ''BlackMagicianTrilogy'' are pretty awful as well. The UK versions feature the main character posing with a staff in a martial-arts esque stance, while the US versions are even worse; one of them has a ''flaming pegasus'' on the cover, for no reason whatsoever!
* One edition of ''The Crying of Lot 49'', despite having some really neat and appropriate cover art, completely craps the bed as far as the descriptive blurb goes. "The highly original satire about Oedipa Maas, a woman who finds herself enmeshed in a worldwide conspiracy, meets some extremely interesting characters, and attains a not inconsiderable amount of self-knowledge." The implication is of a heartwarming tale of finding oneself, and not the bizarre Post-Modern MindScrew that the book actually is.
* FrankFrazetta made his fame by painting covers that were much better than the books that they.... well, covered. And often completely unrelated to the story.

* One paperback version of CormacMcCarthy's ''BloodMeridian'' has a blurb which completely misses the point of the entire book, implying that the book is about the oppression of harmless innocent Native Americans, when actually everyone in the book is a murdering bastard, regardless of colour or creed.

* From [[http://www.david-drake.com/north.html Notes on Northworld]] at DavidDrake's website: "While I was writing Northworld, Beth called to ask what the book was about because they needed to put a cover on it. I sent her a scene of people dueling in powered personal armor. Beth called back in a week. "We had a cover conference on your book," she said. "We're going to put a tank on the cover. Is there a tank in the book?" I told her that there would be, now that I'd been told about the cover. And there is."

* This trope may have inadvertently launched HarryTurtledove's career: a colleague complained to him that her publisher had given her work a cover "as anachronistic as Robert E. Lee holding an UZI". This offhand complaint inspired what turned out to be his breakout success, ''TheGunsOfTheSouth'' (whose cover, ironically, did not lie.)
** The British editions of later HarryTurtledove are very prone to this trope: for example, the ''{{Worldwar}}'' books show the lizardlike Race aliens lacking their chameleon-type eye turrets mentioned every goddamn paragraph in the book, wearing clothes, and having a symbol that looks vaguely like a pterodactyl. It's emphasised in the books that the Race don't wear clothes and have no distinctive symbol or flag because their homeworld has been politically united for so long that there's nothing they need to distinguish themselves from.
* The cover of ''Club Dead'', the third book in TheSookieStackhouseMysteries, shows Sookie dancing in the air above the eponymous club with someone who appears to be the vampire Bill, though he is never at the club and in fact does not appear in person for much of the novel's action.
* The cover of ''[[http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n6/n32097.jpg Hazezon]]'', the third book in the ''[[MagicTheGathering Magic Legends]]'' trilogy, features Hazezon holding the halves of a broken sword above his head and (on the back) Jedit fighting Johan in a desert with a burning city in the background. None of that happens in the book; Jedit fights Johan in an oasis, and where the business with the sword comes from, nobody knows.

* Some posters and covers for ''The Crucible'' appear to show a romantic embrace between John Proctor (Daniel-Day Lewis) and Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder). While there is an affair between the two, it's done before the film even starts and Proctor detests Abigail for it so much that by the end he's willing to give up his own life to try to get her killed; when this fails and she tries to rescue him, Proctor tells Abigail he'd rather die than let her save him.

* PhilFoglio always did a good job with the covers for the hardback editions of Robert Asprin's ''Literature/MythAdventures'' novels, but when Walter Velez did the covers for the Ace reprints, he tended to get a lot wrong. The cover of the first, ''Another Fine Myth'' features Aahz the demon as a towering philosopher in [[FanDisservice a thong]]. Three strikes, you're out. At least they got his skin color right.

* Some editions of ''[[Main/HisDarkMaterials The Amber Spyglass]]'' has an ornate spyglass on the cover, which fits the title but not the story: in it, the eponymous artifact is a far more primitive device made of two sheets of resin fastened together so the user can look through them.

* JackCampbell's ''TheLostFleet'' books feature the main character, John Geary, holding a different gun, in different armor, in a different location on each cover. This is despite the fact that Geary: Has never carried a weapon, has never worn armor, and didn't even leave his ship until the sixth book. (The books also contain absolutely no physical description of him, so there is no reason to believe he looks like that -- even the race may be wrong.)
** This is actually [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the eighth book, ''Invincible'', when his flagship captain jokes about writing her memoirs:

* ''HouseOfLeaves'' is an interesting example. The cover design is fine, but the choice of blurbs on the back paint a somewhat... um... ''misleading'' picture. "Funny, moving, sexy..." and "a love story..." are not the first descriptions that jump to most readers' minds when thinking of this book, and absolutely no mention is made of the novel's most memorable facet: it's [[CosmicHorrorStory really]], ''[[MindScrew really]]'' scary.
* The official Guy Gavriel Kay fansite Bright Weavings lampshades this with a gallery of some of the interesting choices publishers made for cover art. The author praises some, politely declines to comment on most, and is openly baffled by others. Believe it or not, all of the following examples are from ''the same trilogy'' in different editions/languages (''The Fionavar Tapestry''): [[http://www.brightweavings.com/artgallery/danft2.htm Evil Barney]], [[http://www.brightweavings.com/artgallery/rocfionavar2.htm Candy Land]], [[http://www.brightweavings.com/artgallery/jailu1.htm Treant Guy]], [[http://www.brightweavings.com/artgallery/polft1.htm Yay Boobies]] ({{NSFW}}), and [[http://www.brightweavings.com/artgallery/italft2.htm Tarzan the Wizard]]. Only Treant Guy has more than half an AssPull's worth of resemblance.
* Behold! [[http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/01/dantes-inferno-reprint/ The new cover]] of Dante's ''[[DivineComedy Inferno]]''! Yes, that's the book itself. Apparently, Dante's classic journey to the afterlife involved wielding a [[SinisterScythe wicked scythe]] to slay the denizens of Hell with while wearing leather pants sans shirt to show off his muscular pecs. This is a special case of a lying cover, as it's ''perfectly accurate''-- for the [[VideoGame/DantesInferno video game]] that was InspiredBy the poem.
** ''PennyArcade'' not only "approves" of this tactic but offers an [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/1/15/ additional suggestion]].
* The original paperback editions of the ''Riverworld'' novels typically depicted various historical figures (e.g. Sam Clemens)-complete with their facial hair, which did not grow on the eponymous planet.
** They were clothed on the covers too, in their period dress.
* At least in the American translation, the cover picture for ''The Battle Horse'' is stylized enough to not be a direct lie, but the back cover blurb relies rather heavily on FromACertainPointOfView. The story itself is about rich kids who stage "jousting" tournaments and poor kids who're paid to be the horses. The blurb makes it sound like TheGameComeToLife, with the female lead [[{{Animorphism}} becoming a horse]].

* Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse covers are notorious for showing Ben Skywalker as looking like his father Luke when he in fact looks like his mother Mara.
* UrsulaKLeGuin herself complained about covers depicting the hero of ''Literature/AWizardOfEarthsea'' as [[RaceLift white]]. The only white people in Earthsea are the Karg raiders, everyone else is black or brown. The hero, Ged, is brown.

* The ''[[ForgottenRealms Starlight and Shadows]]'' series has two sets of covers in different releases. Not a single one has a picture of the protagonist anywhere close to her descriptions, or indeed, of a drow at all (what with angular face and specific eye colorations) beyond a DarkSkinnedBlonde with sharpened ears. The second set got a round-faced lady and rumours say cover's a portrait of the illustrator himself with his girlfriend. That's the ''"good"'' variant.
* It was common in the Sixties and Seventies for the cover blurbs of mystery novels to completely misrepresent the story within. This happened due to the popularity of thrillers and spy novels, which made plain old mysteries seem fit only for [[CrazyCatLady pathetic spinsters]].
** The cover of the 1975 reprint of [[NeroWolfe Rex Stout's]] ''Prisoners Base'' promises that the client "only has a fifty-fifty chance" unless Wolfe intervenes; in the novel, however, [[spoiler: the client dies on page ten.]]
* One of the early covers of ''{{Spellsinger}}'' shows a tall, thin, and clearly human wizard in a hooded cloak, posing dramatically. The only wizard in that book is a ''[[TurtlePower talking tortoise]]''.
** The blurbs on the back covers are equally prone to misidentifying characters' species, e.g. calling a sloth an anteater, or a tiny ''golden lion tamarin'' a gorilla.

* ''LonelyWerewolfGirl'''s cover is odd, though excusable. One could, by taking bits and pieces of Kalix's appearance throughout the book, make her look close enough to the image on the cover to excuse the rest as stylistic choice. What lies is the summary on the back cover. It says people are fighting for her important vote when they're ''trying to kill her''. [[FromACertainPointOfView They are trying to kill her so her seat can be filled, making the new member of the council give the tie-breaking vote.]]
* The heroine of ''AshASecretHistory'' is a white-haired girl, with her pale hair being repeatedly referred to and turning out to be a plot point. This didn't stop one cover artist from drawing her with red hair, however.

* The first couple of books in the ''{{Dragonlance}}'' "Chronicles" series have pretty accurate covers. But Caramon and Raistlin are never in a forest together at any point during ''[[http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv194/midasqq/Books/spring.jpg Dragons of Spring Dawning]]''--as a matter of fact, they get separated early on and stay separated for most of the book. And when they ''are'' in the same place at the same time, Kitiara ''isn't'' there. In ''[[http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dlnovel/885510000 Dragons of Summer Flame]]'', Tanis and Usha never meet one another, [[spoiler: and never will, since Tanis dies in the middle of the book]]. Similarly, the three characters standing together on the cover of ''[[http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0786926945.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg Second Generation]]''--Palin Majere, Steel Brightblade, and Gilthas--never cross paths during any of the five stories in the book.

* ''The Unwilling Warlord'' is an {{Ethshar}} novel about a medieval character being dragged off to fulfill his ancestral duty in a war in a distant land. The cover art depicts an angry man in a business suit on a throne. The reason for this? [[http://www.ethshar.com/cover.html That image was supposed to go on a completely different book]].

* P.C. Hodgell posts on her website [[http://www.pchodgell.com/site/index.php?module=PhotoGallery&gid=29 covers of various editions of her books]] with commentary. The biggest problem she runs into seems to be people giving the flat-chested Jame of ''ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'' a prodigious bosom, or depicting the ivory-armored berserker rathorns as unicorns.
* Ben Shahn's covers for SJ Perelman's book ''[[http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/2422130493_9ab19ce572.jpg The Rising Gorge]]'' and ''[[http://pics.librarything.com/picsizes/62/05/620596be1026d2059304b345251434d414f4541.jpg The Road to Miltown]]'' don't really evoke the feel of absurd comedy essays by a man who used to write for TheMarxBrothers.

* The Japanese covers for ''TheTomorrowSeries'' have a minor example: Ellie's (Asian, non-Japanese) boyfriend Lee is absent from most of the covers and way in the background when he does appear, while a white guy (presumably Kevin) is front-and-center on most of them, making it look as though he's the male lead/love interest. It's a little {{unfortunate|Implications}} (if not surprising considering how Japan tends to feel about the rest of Asia).

* The Bantam editions of the ''DocSavage'' novels are usually pretty good, depicting either an actual scene from the novel or a generic image of Doc. However, the cover for ''Brand of the Werewolf'' depicts Doc wrestling with what appears to Universal Studio's WolfMan. No scene like this occurs in the novel (where the 'brand of the werewolf' is a distinctive mark left behind by the killers).

* ''Literature/TheFlightEngineer'': Commander Raeder does not look like JamesDoohan (chalk that one up to marketing trying to call attention to Doohan being co-author), and at no point in ''The Privateer'' does the ''[[CoolStarship Invincible]]'' fly into a docking port in the side of an asteroid. ''The Independent Command'' also screwed up several details on its picture of a [[InsectoidAliens Fibian]].
* The cover of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' is highly RomanceNovel, with a man carrying an [[DamselInDistress unconscious woman]]. Jerin does pick up Odelia once, with his sister there to guard him, and it ''is'' in many ways a romance novel, but this cover is very misleading as to the [[FeminineBoyMasculineGirl roles]] of those two characters. It also shows him as very visibly armed, which Jerin [[NonActionGuy never is]].

* ''[[Literature/TimeMachineSeries Time Machine]]'' gamebook series: Iin the Polish edition, the back covers feature a situation from the book and hint that you will have two choices in that situation (and that if you choose wrong, you'll end up stuck in a time loop). Most of the time, it turns out that when this part comes in the book, you don't actually have the choices presented by the cover.

* The cover picture of the ''StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' novel ''Shadow Games'' (the main character, Han Solo {{expy}} Dash Rendar, running down a corridor with the insignia of the [[TheEmpire Galactic Empire]] on the left and the [[TheAlliance Rebel Alliance]] on the right) ''seems'' to be a big case of this. But for more than 2/3 of the book, there's no sign of the conflict between the Empire and the Rebels playing even a ''background'' role to the story. In actuality, it's the blurb on the back cover (implying that the conflict is between [[TheSyndicate Black Sun]] and a rogue ex-member, with Dash caught in the middle) that's deceptive. It's really all about the Empire and the Rebels, the protagonist (and the reader) just doesn't find out until near the very end.
* The cover of the 50th anniversary edition of ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' is a silhouette of a girl--likely Scout Finch--playing on a tyre swing, when everybody knows that the story is really about racial prejudice starring one of the most despicable characters in literature history in the form of Bob Ewell.

* The blurb on the back of the third book in TheInheritanceTrilogy, ''Kingdom of the Gods'', would have you think Shahar Arameri is the main character of the thing. To be fair, she does play a fairly large role in the first half of the book - but she gets DemotedToExtra about 250 pages in.

* The cover for the ''Series/BabylonFive'' DVD set "The Movie Collection", containing the last three [[MadeForTVMovie Made For TV Movies]], prominently features Londo, who appears in none of them.

** In the insert for the 1st Season box set, one of the pictures for the episode ''Soul Hunter'' shows the Soul Hunter from the movie ''River of Souls'', who does not appear in the episode. It was likely included because MartinSheen is a more recognizable actor than either of the Soul Hunters in the episode.

* The VHS release of the ''DoctorWho'' story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E3FrontierInSpace Frontier in Space]]" prominently features a Dalek, even though the Daleks only appear for about two minutes in the last episode.

* Happens in-universe in ''AsTimeGoesBy'' to Lionel's book, ''My Life In Kenya''. The cover shows Lionel in a pith helmet in front of a luxurious jungle, with a busty blonde woman showing considerable cleavage draping herself over him.

* The Season 1 set of ''TheMiddle'' shows the aunts' dog Doris on the front cover with the main characters implying that she belongs to the Heck family.

* The Season 9 set of ''{{The X-Files}}'' prominently features David Duchovny's face, despite the fact that he was in only one episode that season. Or two if you count the brief, imaginary reflection of him in another character's eyeball. Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish, who were the actual leads that year, are marginalized.

* The DVD of the MiniSeries ''ToTheEndsOfTheEarth'' features Sam Neill's face largest and in the forefront, and his name and profile on the case spine, even though he plays a very minor character. The real star, BenedictCumberbatch, is barely noted.

* The ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' [=DVDs=] feature images of ships and characters on the discs themselves. However, they don't match the episodes on that disc.

** ''[[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lg3n9siN-H0/UIeAMq7xMgI/AAAAAAAAYJo/259npj00sZM/s320/Beck-Sea-Change-Delantera.jpg Sea Change]]'' evokes DavidBowie's ''Aladdin Sane'' and not the sombre, folky and largely acoustic album it actually is.

* DavidBowie's early albums ''Space Oddity'' and ''The Man Who Sold the World'' got the TrendCovers treatment after ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' hit it big -- they were reissued with pictures of him as Ziggy on the covers. But while ''Ziggy Stardust'' was GlamRock through and through, those albums were folk rock and Music/HeavyMetal, respectively.

* Some album covers, such as certain editions of FrontLineAssembly's ''Civilization'', list the tracks in the wrong order.

* The cover for {{KISS}} "Creatures of the Night" originally featured Ace Frehley, even though he doesn't perform on the album.
** A later re-issue featured an updated band photo on the cover with Bruce Kulick, who doesn't preform on the album either
* NickDrake's ''[[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/NickDrakePinkMoon.jpg Pink Moon]]'' is an extremely sparse, short folk album, but the cover makes it look more like an avant-garde jazz album.

* Wrestling posters and DVD covers will often feature one of their Divas (and one of the [[FauxActionGirl Faux Action Girls]] at that) holding a prop that ''symbolically'' has something to do with the theme of the show, but is otherwise irrelevant; the Diva in question is often [[BillingDisplacement barely in the show, if at all]]. Even if a male wrestler's image is used, he might be shown wearing a silly themed costume (suggesting that the show will be laugh-a-minute) or depicted with inappropriate iconography. Famously, the poster for ''No Mercy'' in October 2007 showed RandyOrton holding a white dove on the cover, implying that he was about to [[HeelFaceTurn turn face]]. (He didn't.)
** If he ''had'' turned face, that would have been the creepiest foreshadowing ever. Yeah, he was holding a dove, but his ''face!''

** VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess had the same thing happen as well. [[http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5148/darknuttwilight1cq7.jpg One of the screenshots]] on the back of the box is from a beta version of the game that had a magic meter when the final game is among the few non-handheld installments in the series since the second game (the first to have a magic meter) to lack one. This led people believe that at some point in the game Link would get access to spells, but they were all sadly mistaken.

* ''Kendo Rage''. [[http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/4430/476848-box.png The cover]] looks similar to ''XenaWarriorPrincess'', but the game is cute, lighthearted, and anime-style. This game was actually the first of a trilogy of games known as "Makeruna! Makendou". The whole story and the characters' names had been rewritten for the American game market.

* The US cover for {{Konami}}'s ''SuikodenI'' featured what were ''supposed'' to be scenes of various characters from the game; however, they had a completely talentless artist do it, and he rendered them so OffModel that they're all hideous and only one or two are even recognizable as being certain characters from the game. Not exactly deceptive, but inaccurate nonetheless, and earns the US version of the game a position among the most awful game cover arts of all time. They get some points for the inexplicable Creator/BruceCampbell lookalike...

* ''Mobile Light Force'' and ''Mobile Light Force 2'' (better known as {{Macekre}}d versions of ''Gunbird'' and ''ShikigamiNoShiro'', two unrelated series) have identical AngelsPose covers that have nothing to do with either of the games in question.
* Video games based on college athletics cannot use the image of a current athlete on the cover; it would void their amateur status. So the cover is almost always a standout player who recently completed their eligibility, meaning that you can almost never play as the athlete on the cover of the game box.
** One game in the NCAA Football series instead shows a mascot. Another edition of NCAA Football has Super Bowl XXXI MVP Desmond Howard on the cover, who was retired from the NFL at the time.
* In ''VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'', LesbianVampire Jeanette Voerman is a minor character who only shows up for about a third of the game as part of a major subplot. Apparently, that was enough to land her a spot as the sole character on [[http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KRPG1YWPL._SS400_.jpg the box cover.]] In their defense, the developers note their dislike of it, saying it was because the cover art was done by a marketing firm that hadn't played the game and had only various pieces of concept art to go with.
* On the NES, Konami usually did good artwork of their game covers that left things just ambiguous enough that it didn't matter. But when they designed the cover of The Goonies II, everything just went to crap. Assumedly unable to afford the royalties for using the actor's likenesses, the artist just drew them all to look like MarkHamill.
* The box art for ''[[NintendoWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin / Dark Conflict]]'' really makes the very heroic moral pillar Captain Brenner / Lt. O'Brian look like a villain, due to a combination of the lighting, his beard and hair and his head being in a position in the art befitting of an EvilOverlooker.

* The cover of ''{{Spore}} Creature Creator'' shows two creatures with embossed, segmented plates running down their torso. These creatures cannot be built, and after the release of the full game there is still no texture that even vaguely resembles an exoskeleton.

* The box for ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}'' has absolutely no screenshots from the actual shipped game. Some are from early E3 builds of the game, and some are simply creatures in areas they don't exist in the game (a Antlion guard on the beach, for example.) The same goes for the first game. All of the screenshots on the box were from early builds of the game.
* The box for ''SilentHill2'' features Angela's face, and nothing else, on the cover. Angela is a character that you encounter a couple times throughout the game... but the much more important female character who you encounter far more often and who plays a major role in the story, is Maria, who is nowhere to be found.
** The cover of the HD collection does feature a very stylish and creepy image of Maria - but unfortunately, it has nothing from ''SilentHill3'' except for the original box art, downsized and included (next to the downsized original cover for 2).
* The cover artwork of the ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' NES game features a cel artwork from the anime series which depicts Kenshiro sparring with his brother Toki, despite the fact that this was actually based on the second series (''Hokuto no Ken 2''), which didn't even had Toki in it. Since the game was published years before the anime was even localized for the U.S. market, the people at Taxan just used a random artwork from the series without any regard to the game's content, knowing that most Americans at the time would've not noticed this..

* The cover for the North American version of SNES game ''RanmaOneHalf: Hard Battle'' has an ugly, highly OffModel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hard_Battle_cover.jpg illustration]] of Ranma, Ryōga, and Genma.
* Would you ever buy a game with Disney characters on its cover, but not appearing in the actual game? Well, only in the South Korean version of the 1983 HudsonSoft game DezeniWorld.

* {{Ubisoft}}'s 'Imagine Happy Cooking' proudly displays a very dull housewife to appeal to grandmothers and boring people alike, coming across as a tired lump of shovelware. Surprisingly, the game itself is a very cutesy Japanese-style visual novel complete with friendship meters and gift-giving, and the cooking games are far more well-made compared to ''Cooking Mama'', as you actually cook three-course meals complete with sides, desserts and dressings.

* The back of the box for the original PS2 version of ''Videogame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex'' features screenshots of a side-scrolling level involving Coco on her scooter (the only section in the game where she rides a scooter has the camera in front of her) and Crash driving a jeep away from what appears to be his hut (the jeep is in the game but only appears in a jungle).
* The covers of all four games in the ''VideoGame/WizardsAndWarriors'' series featured designs depicting main character Kuros as a [[BarbarianHero barbarian warrior]] in the style of ''ConanTheBarbarian'', complete with flowing locks and obvious huge muscles. In all four games, Kuros always wears platemail and almost always has a helmet. Even when he's not wearing a helmet, either all you can see are his eyes (in ''Ironsword'') or he is seen with short hair, a mustache, and a beard (in ''Wizards & Warriors III'').

* The cover to ''DeadlyPremonition'' has a definite "ultra gory action/survival horror" theme. It's actually a standard survival horror games that, while it ''does'' have a good amount of gore, focuses more on the detective work than the action.
* The cover for the original ''{{X-COM}}'' game, ''UFO - Enemy Unknown'', features a huge bug-eyed monstrosity which does not appear in the game in any way, shape, or form. To be fair, showing something that ''did'' would be a subversion of the title.

* ''SpaceStationSiliconValley'' has a picture of the fire fox on the game cart and instruction manual (he's the only animal in the picture). Although he's one of the most fun animals to control, you only encounter him twice and NEVER play as him, unless you use a cheat code.

* Similarly, ''StarWarsBattlefront II'' has an example of this for its space maps. Usually, the LoadingScreen shows an image of a battle on the map being loaded along with hints in the upper right. Space maps, unlike most ground-based maps, only allow the player to battle in one era (Clone Wars from the prequels or Galactic Civil War from the originals) depending on the map. In the console versions of the game, Clone War-era space maps only show Galactic Civil War-era ships in the loading screens, and vice versa.

* The box art of ''KidKool'' depicts Kool as an Elvis look-alike, completely different from his in-game appearance, where he resembles [[GanbareGoemon Goemon]].

* The cover of ''[[EpicMickey Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion]]'' shows The Queen of Hearts from ''Disney/AliceInWonderland'' and Hades from ''Disney/Hercules'', and while they are both shown as brief cameos in the beginning of the game, you never battle them or go through any levels based on their respective movies at all in the game.

* On the first ''RoadRash'' game, the title card for the track, "Pacific Coast", makes you think you're going to ride along the beach, but the actual track looks more like its out in an open field surrounded by mountains like its somewhere in Scotland or something.

* The American box of ''[[VideoGame/{{KirbyNightmareInDreamland}} Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland]]'' included pictures of several characters from the [[Anime/{{KirbyOfTheStars}} Kirby anime.]] The game itself is a remake of KirbysAdventure, originally released in the early 90s, so of course none of the anime-exclusive characters appear in it.

* ''PennyArcade'''s book covers ([[http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1593074441/ref=sib_dp_pop_fc?ie=UTF8&p=S001 1]], [[http://web.archive.org/web/20060526105834/http://www.penny-arcade.com/docs/gabe/pabook2.jpg 2]], [[http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/400/13/13979.jpg 3]]) all feature the two main characters, but that's about it. On the other hand, this may as good a way as any to represent [[GagSeries the comic]].
* Banner ads for ''MenageA3'' do a thorough job of explaining that the comic features a lot of sex based jokes. Most of these ads are either LesYay, or [[MsFanservice DiDi's "[=DDs=]"]]. There is no indication that most of the comic is actually HoYay.
* ''DomainTnemrot'''s [[http://www.tnemrot.com/?p=57 chapter two cover]] is much LighterAndSofter than the contents.
* The second ''Webcomic/ElectricWonderland'' comic has a cover page with Aerynn exclaiming, "[[TheBigCountry I said I would shoot, but you didn't believe me!]] [[TheRenAndStimpyShow Why didn't you believe me??]]" She doesn't actually shoot anyone in that comic.

* Lampshaded during [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ470zHEhDI this review]] pr ''MasterOfMagic'' one of the reviews states "I knew it was a total flop, one could tell that just by looking at the box". Before the end of the video that same reviewer falls in love with the game.
* The autographed cast picture where everyone was in their costumes was the first spoiler for WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee, and taking the cue from WebVideo/{{Kickassia}} and WebVideo/SuburbanKnights, fans wondered how Doug was going to emote at all with a giant JudgeDredd helmet covering half his face. In reality, he was only in the Dredd costume for ten minutes, so he was free to PuppyDogEyes[=/=]ManlyTears away the rest of the time.

* The back cover of a five episode ''PowerpuffGirls'' VHS tape "Dream Scheme" shows Buttercup beating up Him who does not appear in any of the episodes on the tape, and the episode list says "PLUS a 'CourageTheCowardlyDog' bonus toon!" while the bonus non Powerpuff toon is actually the pilot to ''SheepInTheBigCity''.
** The back cover of another tape called "Birthday Bash" states it has a ''SheepInTheBigCity'' bonus toon. It's actually just a random ''CourageTheCowardlyDog'' episode. Maybe the two covers were switched around?
* Subverted in ''PhineasAndFerb'' where Candace immediately dismisses books based on their covers, when her mom says not to judge a book by its cover Candace argues that books have covers to capture peoples' interest, and then asks her mom why she picked these books to which Linda begrudgingly admits because they looked interesting and leaves.

* Re-releases of ''ScoobyDoo'' television films and collections that contain Scrappy-Doo no longer depict him on the box cover nor mention his presence anywhere in the blurbs, despite Scrappy being a major character in those productions. This is likely due to the massive [[TheScrappy anti-Scrappy backlash]] of the post 80s era.
* The [[http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vElsVAAzL._SS500_.jpg Complete First Season]] to ''MyLittlePony'' has the incorrect box-art. The artwork is of the 90s ''MyLittlePony'' toys, G2 as called by fans, which didn't even have a cartoon.
** This also extends to the ''MyLittlePonyTales'' DVD releases in Australia. Understandably, it only reinforced the confusion of "which generation does ''Tales'' belong to?" that was already widespread among collectors and fans of the show at that time.

* The box art and title screens for ''Dingo Pictures's'' productions often depict characters that don't appear in the cartoon... or characters with a different role than they actually have.
** And the artwork is usually much better.
* The animated TV series of ''OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'' has yet to make a DVD release, and the only episode that ever got a video release was the ChristmasEpisode. The title of the video reads "A 101 Dalmatians Christmas", when it's actually called "A Christmas Cruella". Not only that, but the cover shows Pongo, Lucky, Rolly, Cadpig, Patch and Two-Tone playing around with presents and Christmas decorations giving the impression that that is what the special is all about, when really, a majority of it is focused on Cruella.

* Various Franchise/{{Transformers}}-related DVD covers. The Hungarian boxart for the [[WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie 1986 animated movie]] and the disk itself showcases screencaps and promo art for GIJoe. Meanwhile, a German cover has Optimus Prime from the ''Anime/TransformersArmada'' cartoon on it, with the background being a promo shot from the Creator/MichaelBay [[Film/{{Transformers}} films]], and the back cover showing stills from the Armada video game (!). Another German release just uses stills from the ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' animated series and a sticker album cover.
* The DVD cover for ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} Arthur's Big Hit]]'' depicts a boxing match between Arthur and D.W. with Francine as the official. This only happens in the ColdOpen at the beginning of the episode.
* The front covers of the [=DVDs=] comprising season one of ''WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' never feature all eight members. Most of them only focus on Avengers who became the title characters of movies forming the MarvelCinematicUniverse.

* The cover art for the DVD release of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventuresHowISpentMyVacation'' depicts Buster, Babs, Plucky, Hamton, Elmyra and Dizzy on a ride at Happy World Land. In the actual movie, Hamton's family and Plucky are the only ones who actually go to Happy World Land, and they don't even go on any of the rides, much to Plucky's dismay.
** One minor exception to this might be towards the end of the film [[spoiler: when Buster and Babs are involved in the mine cart chase with the killer, at one point in the chase, it turned out the mine cart ride was an attraction at Happy World Land]].
* The makers of the ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' DVD box sets (at least the ones released in the US) seem to have been confused. The “Season One” set actually contains all the episodes from the first ''two'' seasons. The “Season Two” set contains the episodes from the third (and final) season—but the screenshots on the packaging are all from second-season episodes.
** Furthermore, all the artwork of Hawkgirl for both seasons is of her in her classic costume, one she ditched at the end of the original series and doesn't wear at all in ''Unlimited''.

* ''PinkyAndTheBrain'', mirroring the earlier ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', was spun off in its own comic book series. While the covers of both titles rarely showed scenes or concepts from the stories inside, the first Pinky and the Brain cover was notable for following the guidelines at the top of this page explicitly, with the Brain pronouncing 'This is the way to make it big in the comic business!'. The cover featured Pinky, the Brain, superheroine costumes, and a box of Kleenex. And it followed the one-inch-from-centre rule.

* Parodied in an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Excalibur}}'' where {{Spider-Man}} guest-starred. The cover prominently displays our web-headed hero, who brags about how he's taking over this comic book, even though he already has four series of his own. None of the members of Excalibur themselves are depicted except for Captain Britain, who is shoved into the background.

* Played with in an early issue of ''{{Thunderbolts}}'', which guest starred Archangel of the X-Men and featured him prominently on the cover with the headline: "Will Archangel join the Thunderbolts?" And then, at the bottom and in only slightly smaller text: "Nah, he's only a guest star... but doesn't he look cool on this cover?"
* In a {{Superman}} comic where the cover says {{Lobo}} will make a one page cameo, Lobo [[MediumAwareness responds by swearing at the fact he only gets one page]].
* As seen on the page image for WolverinePublicity, there existed an alternate cover for an AnitaBlake comic Marvel was putting out at the time featuring Wolverine and Anita, with a small caption reading "Wolverine does not actually appear in this issue".

* This was fairly common in the late-nineties-early-2000s, making fun of earlier covers that played it straight. For example issue of ''[[TheFlash Impulse]]'' with a villain beating up Max Mercury while Bart [[PassThePopcorn ate popcorn]] declared "In This Issue ... absolutely ''nothing'' like this happens!"

* ''SheHulk'' had some fun with this. One particular issue had Punisher, Wolverine, and Spider-Man featured prominently on the cover, while She-Hulk tells the readers that they only appear ''on'' the book, not ''in'' it.

* The trope was spoofed in a scene in ''[[BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey]]'', quoted at the top of this page.
* The ''ScaryMovie'' series did it twice: [[http://www.impawards.com/2000/scary_movie.html the poster for the first movie]] makes it appear as though Shannon Elizabeth is the star (not [[SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer Anna Faris]] - the DVD cover [[http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5123WET5P4L._SS500_.jpg adds her]] for justice). [[http://impawards.com/2006/scary_movie_four_ver4.html The fourth]] has Film/KingKong, who doesn't appear in the movie (a spoof).

* Parodied in ''TheAreasOfMyExpertise'', a book of fake trivia:.

* Parodied in ''Literature/BimbosOfTheDeathSun''. Engineering professor Jay Omega once wrote a novel about sunspots wrecking electronics and reducing the intelligence of women worldwide; the novel is well-written [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness Hard Sci-Fi]] and not the least bit misogynistic. Unfortunately, the third-rate publishing house saddles it with a FrankFrazetta-style ContemptibleCover, featuring a FurBikini-clad barbarian woman [[LegCling clinging to the leg]] of a muscle-bound scientist with a clipboard and computer, as well as the title ''Bimbos of the Death Sun''. As a result, people assume both book and author are much more lurid than they really are, and Jay does his best to make sure as few people as possible know he wrote it.
** For extra recursion points, the ''actual'' ''BimbosOfTheDeathSun'' was given a [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bimbos_of_the_death_sun_1888.jpg comparable cover;]] the novel itself is a fairly tame (if funny) murder-mystery set at a sci-fi convention.
* In ''DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' Greg's mom puts the kibosh on his book club selection because she doesn't like the scantily clad warrior woman on the cover. Greg notes that there are no women in the book's entire series and wonders if the cover artist even read the book.
* The first edition of ''BoredOfTheRings'' included a rather erotic "excerpt" from the book as part of the front material. Naturally, nothing even remotely resembling the excerpt can be found in the actual text.

* Capcom designed [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MegaMan9BoxArt.jpg the box art]] for the {{Retraux}} ''Mega Man 9'' in the style of the original covers.
** The box art was mocked even before that in ''MegaManZX Advent'', where it was a part of side quest where a boy wanted cool pictures of heroes: upon seeing it, he immediately dismisses it as lame and lets you keep it. Upon looking it in your menu, the game states that "this "legendary hero" looks more like some sort of a colorful coal miner".
** The trend continued with the ''Mega Man 10'' [[http://www.mobygames.com/game/mega-man-10/cover-art/gameCoverId,181282/ boxart]].

* ''TheWotch'' lampshades the practice in [[http://www.thewotch.com/?epDate=2006-11-28 this cover]].

* Parodied in ''TheNoob''. The squid people are the prominent feature of the game's expansion, but the PointyHairedBoss demanded it be replaced with a pair of boobs. 3D boobs.

* ''NanasEverydayLife'' has every single strip start with a panel in which [[HopeSpot Nana is cheerfully waving at the readers with a blue sky and a nice little suburb-ish house in the background]]. Nana's Everyday Life is the most horrific BlackComedy[=/=]BlackComedyRape webcomic that can be found. Except, it eventually [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] BlackComedy as a whole and [[TearJerker stops pretending to be funny]].

* ''RegularShow'' parodies this when Mordecai and Rigby plug in an 8-bit game and compare it (favorably) to the cover illustration.

Dishonest as the practice may be, you gotta admit that it is kinda funny, too.

* The international posters and US home video covers for ''PainAndGain'' put the Sorina character with MarkWahlberg and DwayneJohnson, despite the fact that the character appears for less than 10 minutes and has little to do with the film's plot. The US poster sold the film much more accurately (and paired Anthony Mackie with the two leads).

* The far-out extreme would be the cover of ''Warriors of the Wind'', the original dub of the classic {{anime}} film ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'' done in the mid-'80s. The artist just [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wotwuscover.jpg made things up and added characters and elements]] that weren't in the movie at all[[note]]There were no flying horses, guns, robots, swords made of light, or shadow-men, the monsters in the movie the one on the cover vaguely resembled were not ever ridden, and of those five characters only the one on the right looks anything like a character in the actual movie (Nausicaa, who even then wasn't blonde).[[/note]]. The dub itself [[CutAndPasteTranslation wasn't an accurate representation]] of HayaoMiyazaki's work either, but it wasn't ''that'' different.

* The UK cover to ''Burning Tower'' by LarryNiven and JerryPournelle shows, logically enough if you ''haven't actually read the book'', a medieval castle in flames. The book is set in Fantasy Mesoamerica, and Burning Tower is a character's ''name''.

* [[Spider-Man]] 694 features the end of a story arc involving 'Alpha' a teenager imbued with potentially the strongest powers in the Marvel universe thanks to an experiment by Peter gone awry. As well as these powers, he's also become a selfish jackass, causing Peter to try and remove his powers before something bad happens. The cover of course features Spidey and Alpha high in the air, ready to beat the other into a pulp, with the words 'Battle Of The Half Century' hovering over them. The actual book? Well, they and the Avengers fight Terminus, but not a single punch is thrown between Alpha and Spidey; there isn't even a shouting match for them to exaggerate.

* The Hi-Tops Video release of ''{{ComicStrip:Peanuts/It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown}}'' depicts the cast at the beach on the front and back cover, but the special itself involves the characters going to summer camp.

* The ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}'' comic ''To Trap a Tahnok'' shows a Tahnok stealing Tahu's Golden Mask and another placing a mind-controlling [[FaceHugger Krana]] on his face. No event like this ever happens in the comics or books.

* [[http://www.gamefaqs.com/saturn/574582-mass-destruction/images/box-14319 The]] Japanese version cover of Mass Destruction, a game where you drive a tank, blow things up and leave smoking craters and debris behind shows a tree which implies peacefulness[[hottip:*:though, if you think about it, what's going to grow up after everything's destroyed?]]. The backside is accurate, and the original American version stays true, though.

* Yun-Fat Chow is featured on the DVD cover of ''[[PiratesOfTheCarribean Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End]]'' and is even given top billing along with the other four leads in the film, but his character hardly does a thing in the movie.

* The Hi-Tops Video release of ''{{WesternAnimation/Peanuts It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown}}'' depicts the cast at the beach on the front and back cover, but the special itself involves the characters going to summer camp.

* The Parkfield Playtime release of ''Codename: {{Robotech}}'' in the UK. As well as the terrible day-glo cover art which doesn't match the original art style at all and is obviously meant to scream [[AnimationAgeGhetto "we are marketing this for kids"]], but the character on the front doesn't even appear in the feature: it's the adult Dana Sterling from ''The Masters'' segment [[note]]a.k.a. Jeanne Franciax from ''SuperDimensionalCavalrySouthernCross''[[/note]], when the feature covers ''The Macross Saga'' only and doesn't even get to the point where baby Dana is born! Mercilessly parodied in [[http://www.anime-games.co.uk/VHS/anime/codename-robotech.php this online review.]]

* Look at any poster for ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' and one of the big things they often show is a decapitated Statue of Liberty. In actuality, the statue only appears very briefly in the opening scene (the only moment in the film actually shot in New York), during which it is perfectly intact.