PRETTY HATE MACHINE #4 (Mad Cave Studios)
As the horrors continue to be revealed the line between reality and psychosis get blurred even further. Thomas finds himself becoming further unraveled and twisted by Luther. However, is Luther even real? Furthermore, what will Thomas do when he discovers who he thought his father was this whole time may have also been a lie?
Pretty Hate Machine #4 - Written By Tim Seeley & Ryan O’Nan – Art By Hank La Marca – Colors By Roman Stevens - Letters By Dave Sharpe - Edited By Ryan Carroll -Published By Mad Cave Studios
Credit: Mad Cave Studios
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
STORY OVERVIEW:
After killing Gilly’s mom Helen, Thomas disposes of the body before finally entering his endgame and getting revenge for the murder of his father. As he returns home, he is confronted by his uncle Spencer. Thomas reveals he knows that his mom and uncle killed his dad because they were having an affair. Spencer reveals that they did kill his dad, but it wasn’t because they were having an affair, it’s because his dad was an evil man. Spencer points out that the knife that Thomas is threating him with was his grandfather’s who served in Vietnam, and it was used by his father to kill his grandfather. The revelation that his dad had murdered his father, animals, and even a young girl when he was a child is a lot for Thomas to process. But Luther isn’t having any of this nonsense and springs into action, but is it actually Luther or just Thomas? Meanwhile, Gilly is going through her own drama and nightmare that will soon cross over with what is happening with Thomas.
WRITING:
The horror and suspense take center stage in this issue, and the result is an installment that feels like it is tightening the screws before one hell of a finale. Ryan O’Nan & Tim Seeley have crafted a tremendous slasher story, but what makes it work so well is the way they refuse to let the book become only about the kills. The violence is nasty, sudden, and brutal in the best way for this type of story, giving the issue the kind of gory shock value that keeps the reader uneasy from scene to scene. At the same time, the writing keeps circling back to Thomas’ damaged perspective, making every violent outburst feel tied to something much deeper and more disturbing than a simple body count.
Where the issue really shines, though, is in the psychological horror. The question of whether Luther is real or whether he is a manifestation of Thomas’ fractured mind has been hanging over the series from the beginning, but this chapter pushes that uncertainty to its most intense point yet. O’Nan and Seeley do a great job of making the reader feel trapped inside Thomas’ confusion. Just when it seems like the story is finally offering a clear answer, the script pulls back and twists the perspective again, forcing you to second guess what you just saw and what Thomas believes he is experiencing. That constant uncertainty gives the issue a dangerous energy, because the reader can never fully trust what is happening on the page.
The revelations about Thomas’ father add even more weight to the issue. Learning that the man Thomas has built up in his mind may not have been the victim he believed him to be completely changes the emotional foundation of the story. The reveal that his father was capable of murder, cruelty, and monstrous behavior does not just function as a shocking twist; it reframes Thomas’ grief, his rage, and his entire motivation. It makes the reader look back at the series with a different understanding of what has been driving him, while also raising uncomfortable questions about inherited violence, family secrets, and how much of Thomas’ identity has been built on a lie.
That is what makes this issue such an effective penultimate issue. It delivers the slasher thrills readers want, but it also deepens the mystery and emotional damage at the center of the book. The reveal of who Luther truly is should absolutely get people talking in comic shops, because it is the kind of twist that feels earned while still landing with real impact. O’Nan and Seeley have been carefully setting the table throughout the series, and this issue makes all of those pieces feel like they are finally crashing together. With Thomas coming apart, Gilly’s nightmare moving closer to his, and the truth becoming more horrifying with every page, the creative team has set up what should be an intense, bloody, and emotionally charged conclusion in the next issue.
ARTWORK:
The artwork in this issue matches the intensity, ugliness, and emotional chaos of the story from start to finish. Hank La Marca brings the slasher horror to life with pages that feel grimy, immediate, and uncomfortable in exactly the way this type of book needs to feel. The violent moments have a sharp impact because La Marca does not make them feel clean or overly polished. They are messy, sudden, and disturbing, which makes the horror land with the right amount of shock value. Every bloody image feels designed to jolt the reader, but the art never relies only on gore. The strongest visual work comes from how the issue balances the brutality with quieter, more psychological moments that show Thomas slowly coming apart.
La Marca is especially effective when the issue leans into character acting. The facial expressions and body language do a lot of the heavy lifting, giving each scene a sense of dread even before the violence breaks out. Thomas’ posture, his eyes, and the way he appears to carry himself all sell the idea of someone being pulled further away from reality. Spencer’s confrontation with him also works because the art captures the fear, desperation, and tension in the room without needing to overstate it. The panels make the reader feel the pressure building between them, and that gives the big revelations even more force when they finally hit.
Roman Stevens elevates all of that with color choices that keep the tone oppressive and unstable. The colors shift well between the nastier slasher sequences and the moments where the book feels more like a psychological nightmare. When the story gets bloody, Stevens gives those moments the right punch, making the violence feel raw and hard to ignore. When the story turns inward and starts messing with Thomas’ head, the colors help create a sense of unease that makes the reader question what is real and what is being filtered through his damaged perspective.
Together, La Marca and Stevens make the issue feel visually consistent with the rest of the series while still giving this issue its own escalating sense of panic. The art team understands that the horror here is not just in what Thomas does, but in the uncertainty surrounding why he is doing it and whether Luther is truly there with him. That visual uncertainty gives the issue an extra layer of tension, and it makes the artwork just as important to the storytelling as the script. This is another strong-looking issue from a team that clearly understands the tone, pacing, and nasty psychological edge of the series.
Check Out My Review of PRETTY HATE MACHINE #3
Final Thoughts:
Pretty Hate Machine #4 delivers on what a penultimate issue should be especially in a horror story. The way the story reveals a twist, only to twist it again, and still keep the reader guessing if the twist is no twist, doesn’t just have me talking in circles, it keeps the reader guessing on how this will all end. The slasher scenes are effective, and the psychological scenes keep driving the story. Pretty Hate Machine has delivered on multiple levels and if this doesn’t have you excited for the finale nothing will. It’s not too late to jump into this series and grab all 4 issues if you don’t have them already. Get them from your local shop or Neon Ichiban today.
FINAL GRADE: 9.6/10
Let me know your thoughts on Pretty Hate Machine #4 in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
