If you’ve ever wondered what makes certain pop culture icons tick, these intricate and slightly disturbing portraits are certainly for you. Created by Austrian urban/graffiti artist and illustrator Nychos, they ensure you’ll never be able to look at superheroes or Disney characters the same way again.

Brought to our attention by a recent post on The Awesomer, Nychos’ art is like a much cooler version of the science books we had in high school ,as the anatomy of pop culture characters is split apart so that we get an all-too gruesome look inside. The illustrations are intense at first glance, but become more beautiful as you focus on the detail that’s gone into each of them.

These as-gorgeous-as-they-are-creepy pieces of art are part of Nychos’ series IKON that’s currently on display at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York City. The exhibit is held until July 23rd, so there’s only a short time remaining for those in the NYC area to get a chance to see these up close and far too personal. In addition to the dissection illustrations, Nychos also created translucent and “x-ray” versions of some characters that are all too fascinating to look at.

While you can expect a cartoon mouse to already have a perplexing anatomy, it’s the attention to the presumed details that make this one particularly awesome. A closer look at Mickey’s hands and feet to reveal his rodent claws usually hidden by his gloves and shoes. Come to think of it, without the gloves, Mickey would be a bit hard to look at.

Take a look at the gallery below and let us know which of Nychos’ creations are your favorites in the comments!

Images: Jonathan LeVine Gallery with permission from Rabbit Eye Movement