I wasn’t really sure what to expect heading into Pretty Hate Machine by Tim Seeley & Ryan O’Nan with illustrations by Paolo Armitano, other than I am huge fan of Seeley’s work and it was a must-read on that fact alone. Reading directly before bed is not recommended, as the nightmarish horror tale with these pages might do exactly that, give you nightmares.
Thomas is in so much pain. As if high school wasn’t hard enough, when his father is killed in a freak accident, and his mother begins to take refuge in the company of his uncle, Thomas is visited by a ghoulish kid named Luther with knives for hands and rows of teeth like an ancient shark who tells Thomas his father was murdered and that anything his mother and uncle tell him is a lie.
Thomas doesn’t know who or what to believe. Does he believe his friends, teachers, and mother, who tell him grief isn’t for the faint of heart, but it will pass? Or does he believe the demented Luther who pulls Thomas through a bloody whirlwind of conspiracies, vengeance, and slaughter, showing him the lies and corruption that surround him? Thomas must fight to discover the truth behind his father’s death, while struggling to keep his new friend from leaving a massacre in his wake. But that “truth” might be far more sinister than Thomas is prepared for…
Pretty Hate Machine is a coming-of-age horror tale that goes the extra mile into the grotesque and terrifying. With a sort of The Body / Stand By Me vibe to start, the story quickly gets messed up in such a fantastic way. Brutal horror story that takes no time getting under your skin. A story that deals with the emotional moments following the death of a parent and the search for answers, which may or may not come with a gruesome price.
As someone who has lived through my teenage years, like most of you who will read this comic, they are not the most fun and can be downright horrifying on their own. Forget the fact that Thomas has to deal with the death of a parent, the mystery surrounding said death, and now a new terrifying “friend” with knives for fingers and rows of ancient shark-like teeth. I guess when life hits you, sometimes it can hit you even harder and harder.
The artwork does a lot of the heavy lifting in Pretty Hate Machine with brutal, gruesome, and utterly grotesque imagery from Armitano. It only takes a few panels to dive straight into the blood, guts, and gore we get a tone of in this premiere issue. While it can take your breath away at moments, it adds so much to this outstanding story.
Pretty Hate Machine is a horrifying blend of grief, conspiracy, and mystery terrifyingly crafted by Tim Seeley & Ryan O’Nan and gruesomely illustrated by Paolo Armitano. This debut issue of Pretty Hate Machine gets under your skin in the most brutal and grotesque way.
Pretty Hate Machine #1 hits local comic shops on April 8, 2026 from Mad Cave Studios.
Pretty Hate Machine #1 Preview
