History UncannyValley / Comics

*** Still this trope has backfired a lot with Spider-Man as his design is near universally loved and there is countless plush toys of the Wall Crawler and common to see children dress up as Spidey. It's likely due to Spider-Man being a UnpopularPopularCharacter, in-universe he's deep in Uncanny Valley and distrusted by the public since he doesn't look like the typical super hero like Captain America but out of universe he's flagship character of Marvel universe.

* The "photorealistic" painted style of ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' and ''ComicBook/{{Marvels}}'' falls into this sometimes, more so with the latter.

*** It's worth noting this trope backfires at a lot with Spider-Man as his design is near universally loved and there's is countless plush toys of the Wall Crawler and common to see children dress up as Spidey. It's likely due to Spider-Man being a UnpopularPopularCharacter, in-universe he's deep in Uncanny Valley and distrusted by the public since he doesn't look like the typical super hero like Captain America out of universe he's flagship character of Marvel universe.

** But hey do you know what's even more disturbing than Joker grinning? The whole [[TheTeam Justice League]] getting [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eFRaaqJpPg4/VXhPZbphczI/AAAAAAAAJck/55mRvaDW7Ns/s1600/apr150223%255B1%255D.jpg infected by the Joker gas and grinning]]. It's especially uncanny in ComicBook/BatmanEndgame because the League (minus Batman) don't instantly have SlasherSmile(s) but it's clear there's [[https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11/111336/4643759-0606576258-5c64b.jpg something wrong with them]]. And when Superman does smile like a madman, Batman knows immediately whose behind it.

* Meanwhile, Franchise/SpiderMan also hits this trope, which is why he's a case of CreepyGood; the costume is just startling, even compared to other super-heroes', since it basically gives him a round, blank face that's featureless save for two huge, white, ever-staring eyes. The garish red and blue costume is creepy enough, even despite the bright colors (or perhaps ''because'' of them, since brightly colored, in nature, typically means "Danger! Poison!"), but when he wears some of his darker costumes, like the black-and-white one that eventually became TheSymbiote, it's only heightened. To this unsettling appearance is added his inhuman flexibility; if you look closer, you'll see a lot of the poses that Spidey so casually strikes are extremely awkward, if not impossible, for an ordinary human to achieve, which further makes him look like a monster. Add to this the ParanoiaFuel his WallCrawling abilities give him (meaning, he can come at you from anywhere, at any angle), and it's surprising just how spooky he is.

** Alex Ross' art tends to invoke this, due to how ridiculously detailed he makes his characters.

* Creator/ScottMcCloud's ''[[ComicBook/UnderstandingComics Making Comics]]'' had a few pages of faces showing various basic facial expressions as a guide to how that kind of thing works. And as [=McCloud=] himself admitted, they were creepy as hell.

* Speaking of [[SlasherSmile creepy]] [[FrozenFace grins]], SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker. [[Film/{{Batman}} Nearly]] [[Franchise/{{DCAU}} every]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight single]] [[ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth incarnation]] [[WesternAnimation/TheBatman of]] [[UncannyValleyMakeup the]] [[MonsterClown character]].

* Like with many Hanna-Barbera-based comics made by Creator/DCComics, the reboot for ''WesternAnimation/{{Snagglepuss}}'' decided to go for a more realistic design instead of the original Hanna-Barbera design. Unfortunately though, they tried to make the art style look '''WAY''' too realistic, with hideously designed characters and expressionless faces on the characters. Check [[http://cdn0.dailydot.com/uploaded/images/original/2017/2/2/snallges.jpg this teaser panel]] to see for yourself.

* When Creator/DCComics announced that they would reboot ''WesternAnimation/{{Snagglepuss}}'', they decided to give him a more realistic design instead of his original cartoony design. [[http://cdn0.dailydot.com/uploaded/images/original/2017/2/2/snallges.jpg Let's just say it didn't end up looking pretty]].

* When Creator/DCComics decided to reboot ''WesternAnimation/{{Snagglepuss}}'', they decided to give him a more realistic design instead of his original cartoony design. [[http://cdn0.dailydot.com/uploaded/images/original/2017/2/2/snallges.jpg Let's just say it didn't end up looking pretty]].

* Creator/KenPenders' unreleased graphic novel series, ''The Lara-Su Chronicles'', that uses uses echidna characters from the ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog comic series, contains [[http://kenpenders.com/lara-su_chronicles/TL-SC_Cover_Art_R1_Web.jpg highly humanized and realistic animals]] that are sure to creep anyone out.

* In a meta example in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', this would be a big reason why Empurata victims would be shunned by society -- the amputation of their faces and hands strips them of their Cybertronian identity, while they can still speak, move and transform. For Cybertronians, Empurata victims would be incredibly creepy, while to us, since Cybertronians are ''already'' on the far side of the valley, they're still just robots.

* In a meta example in ''ComicBook/MoreThanMeetsTheEye,'' this would be a big reason why Empurata victims would be shunned by society - the amputation of their faces and hands strips them of their Cybertronian identity, while they can still speak, move and transform. For Cybertronians, Empurata victims would be incredibly creepy, while to us, since Cybertronians are ''already'' on the far side of the valley, they're still just robots.

* In a meta example in ComicBook/MoreThanMeetsTheEye, this would be a big reason why Empurata victims would be shunned by society - the amputation of their faces and hands strips them of their Cybertronian identity, while they can still speak, move and transform. For Cybertronians, Empurata victims would be incredibly creepy, while to us, since Cybertronians are ''already'' on the far side of the valley, they're still just robots.

----

* The tie-in comics for ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' manage to fall into this, with only one vector per character that is subject to very minuscule changes, if any, based on emotion. [[http://www.derpibooru.org/images/19485 Witness]] [[http://www.derpibooru.org/images/18878 the]] [[http://www.derpibooru.org/images/18883 horror]].
* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' Issue #1's [[http://www.amazon.com/Little-Friendship-Magic-Subscription-Variant/dp/B00A8RS4BC/ SUB]] cover by Jill Thompson.
** The costumes that Pinkie carries around.

* The original ''ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie'' comics feature horrific, pure white eyes utterly empty of soul or emotion, on every character, for no apparent reason.

* ''VideoGame/SilentHill: Sinner's Reward'' is guilty of this, too.

* Alex Ross' art tends to invoke this, due to how ridiculously detailed he makes his characters.

* In 1970s Creator/MarvelComics, this was ComicBook/{{Spider-Woman}}'s shtick; her comic's tagline was "To Know Her Is to Fear Her!" She is, biologically, literally part spider, and was raised by PettingZooPeople and [[BeastMan Beast Men]] to boot. When she finally enters the human world, nearly everyone is instantly, instinctively afraid of her, making it extremely hard for her to find work or shelter, and leaving her terribly alone. Still, through tremendous effort, she eventually overcomes this and makes a good life for herself, making for a very inspiring [[CharacterDevelopment character arc]]. However, ExecutiveMeddling later [[PutOnABus put her on a bus]] for 20 years, and when she was finally brought back into the limelight, this whole aspect of her origin was {{retcon}}ned away.

* Some of the earlier ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' comics have [[http://winxcomics.livejournal.com/181529.html#cutid1 hideous panels]], with an unhealthy side order of OffModel

* The tie-in comics for ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' manage to fall into this, with only one vector per character that is subject to very miniscule changes, if any, based on emotion. [[http://www.derpibooru.org/images/19485 Witness]] [[http://www.derpibooru.org/images/18878 the]] [[http://www.derpibooru.org/images/18883 horror]].

* Meanwhile, Franchise/Spiderman also hits this trope, which is why he's a case of CreepyGood; the costume is just startling, even compared to other super-heroes', since it basically gives him a round, blank face that's featureless save for two huge, white, ever-staring eyes. The garish red and blue costume is creepy enough, even despite the bright colors (or perhaps ''because'' of them, since brightly colored, in nature, typically means "Danger! Poison!"), but when he wears some of his darker costumes, like the black-and-white one that eventually became TheSymbiont, it's only heightened. To this unsettling appearance is added his inhuman flexibility; if you look closer, you'll see a lot of the poses that Spidey so casually strikes are extremely awkward, if not impossible, for an ordinary human to achieve, which further makes him look like a monster. Add to this the ParanoiaFuel his WallCrawling abilities give him (meaning, he can come at you from anywhere, at any angle), and it's surprising just how spooky he is.

* ComicBook/TheNew52 Joker takes the cake, since he had his own face sliced off and wears it like a mask, often using it to make himself even ''more'' unsettling.

* In 1970s Creator/MarvelComics, this was ComicBook/{{Spider-Woman}}'s shtick; her comic's tagline was "To Know Her Is To Fear Her!" She is, biologically, literally part spider, and was raised by PettingZooPeople and [[BeastMan Beast Men]] to boot. When she finally enters the human world, nearly everyone is instantly, instinctively afraid of her, making it extremely hard for her to find work or shelter, and leaving her terribly alone. Still, through tremendous effort, she eventually overcomes this and makes a good life for herself, making for a very inspiring [[CharacterDevelopment character arc]]. However, ExecutiveMeddling later [[PutOnABus put her on a bus]] for twenty years, and when she was finally brought back into the limelight, this whole aspect of her origin was {{retcon}}ned away.

** His drawn face with big blank glasses could sometimes look fairly soulless.
* The "Photorealistic" painted style of ComicBook/KingdomCome and {{Marvels}} falls into this sometimes, more so with the latter.
* ''Silent Hill: Sinner's Reward'' is guilty of this, too.

* Speaking of [[SlasherSmile creepy]] [[FrozenFace grins]], SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker. [[Film/{{Batman}} Nearly]] [[{{DCAU}} every]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight single]] [Comicbook/[ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth incarnation]] [[WesternAnimation/TheBatman of]] [[UncannyValleyMakeup the]] [[MonsterClown character]].
* FallOfCthulhu introduced a brand new character to Lovecraft's mythos: The Harlot, a keeper of all men's secrets, whose giant green head houses a nose too flat and a pair of juicy red lips a little too big. She's a wonderful example of what a HumanoidAbomination would look if it took up burlesque fashion.
* Beautie from ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' fits this trope; she is a living, life sized Barbie doll, so it makes sense.

* The caricatures from the 19th Century political satire magazine [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puck_%28magazine%29 Puck]] can come across as this, on account of the photo-realistic style.
* This happens whenever [[TheFarSide Gary Larson]] tries to emulate the style of more serious cartoons (to parody them, usually) that they get creepy.

* Any attempt to make ''ArchieComics'' realistic looking. They infamously [[http://www.toplessrobot.com/Jughead%20Redesign.jpg tried]] [[http://www.toplessrobot.com/Archie%20Header%20Image.jpg it]] out in the mid 2000s, only to get [[ItChangedNowItSucks completely negative reactions]].

* As good as Sara Pichelli's work in ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan is, the artwork can sometimes fall into this with the extreme detail of the facial expressions.
* Alex Ross's art tends to invoke this, due to how ridiculously detailed he makes his characters.
* The NationalLampoon ran an article showcasing the 'real' people who were inspirations for newspaper comics - featuring lovingly rendered, realistic pictures of the subjects who were dead ringers for the likes of Dick Tracy, Little Orphan Annie, Popeye, and the NightmareFuel that was [[NoMouth Henry]].

* Speaking of [[SlasherSmile creepy]] [[FrozenFace grins]], SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker. [[Film/{{Batman}} Nearly]] [[{{DCAU}} every]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight single]] [[ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth incarnation]] [[WesternAnimation/TheBatman of]] [[UncannyValleyMakeup the]] [[MonsterClown character]].

* The NationalLampoon ran an article showcasing the 'real' people who were inspirations for newspaper comics - featuring lovingly rendered, realistic pictures of the subjects who were dead ringers for the likes of Dick Tracy, Little Orphan Annie, Popeye, and the NightmareFuel that was Henry.

* Alex Ross's art tends to invoke this, due to how ridiculously detailed he makes his characters.

* Speaking of [[SlasherSmile creepy]] [[FrozenFace grins]], SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker. [[{{Batman}} Pretty]] [[{{DCAU}} much]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight every]] [[ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth single]] [[WesternAnimation/TheBatman incarnation]] [[UncannyValleyMakeup of]] [[MonsterClown the character]] ''is'' this trope.