In our review of Corpse Knight #5, Foy learns the truth about Joan, about Gilles, and most importantly about herself.
Corpse Knight #5
Writer: Michael Chaves
Art and Main Cover: Matthew Roberts
Variant Covers: Lewis LaRosa, Tonči Zonjić, Nimit Malavia, Steve Beach
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: August 26, 2026
This review contains spoilers
Corpse Knight #5 begins as Joan watches Foy’s father burn, Foy and Gilles sit down and chat. He tells her about how he knows that her father was a Warden, and that Wardens had been known for hunting witches. And that one known witchcraft variety was necromancy. He points out that witchcraft is passed down from parent to child. And that Foy was the one responsible for her father’s resurrection.
He claims that Joan was delusional, and that her time of being seen as a hero was likely ending soon. Instead, Foy might be the miracle they were waiting for. He offers to mentor her, but she refuses. He knocks her out, donning a familiar white mask before taking her to a room where he keeps a bunch of kids in cages.
As it turns out, Gilles selects one each Sunday to murder. And the last kid that tried to escape was killed. A vision of Foy’s mother tells her that she needs to save the children, and has all she needs to do so…which leads her to try resurrecting the child that was killed while trying to escape so he could get the keys from the wall.
But that kid’s not the only one being brought back. Much to Joan’s horror, Foy’s papa is starting to come back…
So, it turns out that Gilles is very, ver,y, VERY not-trustworthy in Corpse Knight #5. And in reading the creators’ notes at the end, I was very surprised to see that him being a serial child murderer has some historical basis to it.
I was aware before reading Corpse Knight #5 that Joan was more likely killed for dressing as a man as opposed to her claiming to hear the voice of God instructing her. Not everyone goes that route, and after, again, reading the creators’ notes at the end, I’m feeling a definite appreciation for their research. It makes it all the richer an experience for the reader.
What would he have done if Foy said yes to his offer to mentor her? Would he have been on the up and up about it or just lying? Would that just mean he’d kill her last, after making her watch the slaughter of the other children?
It has to be quite a shock for Foy to find out that there’s necromancer blood in her. Plus, in a lot of instances, magic can be brought forth by intense enough emotions. It’s hard to get much more intense than a young girl losing the only family member she has left right there in front of her.
Also, the little flashbacks of Foy’s parents in life were great to see. Without too much having to be said, we get an idea of how they wound up together: he was sent to do his Warden-ly duty, met a rather beautiful witchy lady, left the Wardens to settle down with her, and her magic passed down to Foy. This would also explain a potential reason for his murder in the first place: he’d stolen the more recent Warden armor from one of his killers. They may have targeted him because he left the fold, rather than it just being a bandit attack.
A favorite moment of mine, from both a storytelling and visual aspect, is at the end of Corpse Knight #5 when Foy’s dad is making his way out of the flames again. Joan may be utterly horrified at what she’s seeing, but I cheered a bit. His undead existence may be an absolute affront to God, but when he gets up, still covered in flames, parts of him having regrown, it’s a thing of absolute beauty. With the knowledge that issue 6 will be the end of the series, his newest resurrection is a perfect way to set things up for that.
Looking forward to seeing Foy possibly come into her own as a witch. With just one issue left, and her now possessing this knowledge of what she is, it’s possible.
Final Thoughts
The penultimate chapter of Corpse Knight brings Gilles’ true nature to light, as well as giving an explanation as to how Foy’s papa returned. Highly recommend.
