From creative team, Peter Milligan (Enigma), Val Rodrigues (Deep Roots), Cristiane Peters, and Dave Sharpe comes The Pale Knight; a supernatural medieval epic born from the darkness of the Black Death.
We recently had the chance to advance read The Pale Knight #1, which goes on sale on May 28, 2025. Published by Mad Cave, the story takes place in the 14th Century, where the Black Death spreads to England after ravaging its way through Europe. We follow knight Sir Hugh de Grey, aka The Pale Knight, who returns from battle overseas to find that his homeland has been left in ruins by the Plague, leaving his son in a precarious state. When Sir Hugh begs to God to save his son’s life… it’s Death himself who answers.
The Pale Knight presents itself as both a grand medieval epic and a deep, contemplative, Faustian-esque tale. Milligan’s writing is marvellous, with strong thought-provoking dialogue and an emotionally-driven storyline. What’s more, the artwork by Val Rodrigues is gritty and realistic (perfect for the era being covered), plunging the reader into its brutal, unforgiving world.
Milligan deviates from action-packed story and extreme gore, unlike other works set in the same period. Instead, The Pale Knight favours slower, more methodical storytelling, allowing for a disturbing atmosphere to be uncovered. Issue #1 reads with a brilliant, creeping sense of dread from the first page to the last. As a result of this, I can totally see The Pale Knight being a story that lingers with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
As for the more supernatural aspect (the arrival of Death himself), it’s a very contemporary vision of how Death would be visualised. There’s no twists on the stereotype here, like what we see in The Sandman, for instance. He’s a dark, menacing skeletal figure carrying a scythe — which by context of the story, works pretty well. I particularly loved the stark contrast between the unseen death (the Black Plague) to the literal personification of Death.
Verdict
The Pale Knight is a simply outstanding debut issue. It plunges you into a broken world, following a broken father desperately trying to save his dying son. I can’t wait to see how the comic continues to grow and develop. This is the second ‘deal with the devil’ style story I’ve given a 5-star review to this year. The first being The Wrestler by John Kenn Mortensen. It’s a great year for lovers of Faustian tales!
Rating: 5/5
The Pale Knight #1 arrives on May 28, 2025. Suffice to say, I highly recommend checking it out! For more geeky news and reviews, consider subscribing to our free, weekly newsletter using the form below:
