In this interview, we chat with writer Peter Milligan about his latest work The Pale Knight — a horror story set during the time of the Black Plague.
The Pale Knight #1 is one of the only comics we’ve given a perfect, 5-star review to so far in 2025. Taking place in the 14th Century, 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 Black 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.
Ahead of the release of The Pale Knight issue #1 on May 28th, we recently caught up with writer Peter Milligan to preview the upcoming comic. Check out our interview below!
To start, tell our readers a little about The Pale Knight. What’s the comic about, in your own words?
The Pale Knight is a medieval horror story about death and redemption. Hugh de Grey – known as the Pale Knight – is a 14th century knight who returns from the horrors of war to an England gripped by the even greater horrors of PLAGUE. When he discovers that his own beloved son has been stricken with the ‘Pestilence’, Hugh prays to god to spare his son. His prayers are answered…but not by God.
What inspired you to tell this story? How did the idea originate?
I’ve been interested in the great and terrible plague of the 1340s for a while, its sheer scale, the changes it wrought in society, how the superstitious medieval mind tried to frame and understand what was going on.
What drew you to write a story set in England at the time of the Black Death? Was this always something you wanted to explore?
The reason why a lot of people write war stories is that in war, life is played at a high pitch, with emotional resonance. The Great Plague has all that and more. And it has all the supernatural components. The supernatural was a real and dangerous thing for those living through the Black Death. Death itself was a personality. Also, one of my favourite films is Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, which takes place in this era. My story is in part an homage to that great piece of art.
Tell us about our protagonist. Who is Sir Hugh? What’s his personality like? Are there specific historical figures or archetypes that influenced his development?
Peter: Sir Hugh is known as the Pale Knight due to his light armor and standard—but also for his gentleness of soul. The medieval knight was a strange mix of chivalry and downright bloody brutality. Sir Hugh encompasses this uneasy dichotomy. He is a good Knight, a good man who loves his wife and son. Yet he took part in a military massacre that haunts him and shatters his faith in God.
In issue #1, you introduce Death himself. How did you develop your personification of Death? Were there any other interpretations of Death from various media that influenced your portrayal?
I knew I wanted Death to be personified and I thought long and hard about how that personification might be represented. I played around with the idea that death might at times ‘inhabit’ or possess animals, through which he could talk. This sounded cool and interesting but in the end I thought about how the medieval mind of the time would have imagined death.
There are many paintings and depictions of Death from that era and this is the direction I took. The classic Death, skeleton, scythe etc. If this feels a little cliched it’s because this image is so burned into our culture and our consciousness. It’s Death.
The gritty visuals play a huge role in this work. How closely did you work with Val Rodrigues to shape the mood of the world? Are there any other works, such as books, films and TV series that influenced your vision for this comic?
Val and I email a bit about the world and where possible, I send references for how things might look. I don’t know about Val, but my main source of reference has been contemporary medieval paints and images. Drawing a historical book like this presents so many problems. It has to feel like the right era, you have to believe it, but in my opinion it shouldn’t be a slave to historical accuracy. Val has got that balance right. We’re taken back to the 14th century, the time of the Black Plague, and the characters seem alive and real.
Do you have any projects coming up in 2025 that you’d like to share?
Peter: A few comics and non-comic things I can’t really talk about yet. Profane has just been published by Boom! Studios, which I was proud of. I have another book with Mad Cave to come out later this year. I’m also doing a series for dear old 2000AD called the Discarded, art by Kieran Mckeown.
We thank Peter Milligan for his time! The Pale Knight #1 arrives on May 28, 2025.
