CORPSE KNIGHT #4 (SKYBOUND ENTERTAINMENT/IMAGE COMICS)

Foy and her corpse of a father have finally made their way to where Joan D’ Arc is. But when they get there Joan and her army are pinned down. Can Foy and the Knight help out Joan and her army, and even if they do will they be thanked properly and the Knight’s curse lifted?

Corpse Knight #4 - Written By Michael Chaves - Art By Matthew Roberts - Colors By Rico Renzi - Letters By Pat Brosseau – Edited By Alex Antone - Published By Skybound Entertainment/Image Comics

Credit: Skybound Entertainment/Image Comics

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

STORY OVERVIEW:

Foy and her father make their way to Saint-Denis and finally arrive where Joan D’ Arc and her army are at. Unfortunately, they are surrounded by English soldiers, and it looks like they have made their final stand. But Foy jumps into action and is captured by the English troops and is being prepped to be used as ammo for a catapult. But the English soldiers meet their grizzly demise by the hands of the Knight for their troubles. The Knight is indiscriminate when it comes to slaughtering the English, and this saves the day for Joan and her troops. The two even get a court with Joan D’ Arc herself. However, I don’t think they get the welcome or conversation they had been hoping for.

WRITING:

This issue ramps up the story in a major way by finally bringing Foy and the Knight face-to-face with the legendary Joan D’Arc, a meeting the series has been building toward since the beginning. Michael Chaves understands that this moment needed to feel important, and he takes the time to make the anticipation matter. Foy and the Knight do not simply arrive and receive the answers they have been chasing. Instead, they enter a situation already full of danger, confusion, and desperation, which immediately raises the stakes and makes their arrival feel less like a victory and more like the beginning of a larger problem. Chaves could have delivered the expected version of this encounter, where Joan recognizes their sacrifice, offers guidance, and moves the story forward in a straightforward way. Instead, he chooses a much more surprising direction, one that challenges the reader’s expectations and forces the story into darker, more unpredictable territory.

What makes the twist work so well is that it does not feel like shock value for the sake of shock value. Chaves uses the reader’s assumptions against them. Because Joan D’Arc carries so much historical and mythic weight, the natural expectation is that she will be a source of hope, clarity, or salvation for Foy and the Knight. The issue plays with that expectation carefully, letting the audience believe they know what kind of scene is coming before pulling the ground out from under them. That choice gives the ending much more impact because it changes the emotional direction of the series. Suddenly, the quest to lift the Knight’s curse feels less certain, and Foy’s faith in the path she has chosen becomes more complicated. The pacing also helps sell the moment. Chaves lets the tension build through the battlefield chaos, the danger surrounding Joan’s forces, and the Knight’s brutal intervention before shifting into the quieter but more unsettling confrontation that closes the issue. By the time the final reveal lands, it feels earned, dramatic, and deeply unsettling. It is a bold creative swing, and it makes the issue feel like a turning point rather than just another chapter in the journey.

ARTWORK:

The artwork in this issue, much like the rest of the series, continues to be one of the strongest parts of the book. Matthew Roberts delivers an action-packed and emotionally charged visual experience that gives the story the scale and intensity it needs. The battle scenes are brutal, messy, and chaotic in all the right ways, making the reader feel the desperation of Joan D’Arc’s army as they are pinned down and running out of options. Roberts does not make the violence feel clean or heroic in a traditional sense. Instead, he leans into the horror of it, showing the Knight as a terrifying force of destruction whose presence can save the day while still reminding everyone around him that he is cursed, dangerous, and not entirely in control of what he has become. That balance between awe and fear is what makes the action land so well visually.

Roberts also does a strong job capturing the emotional whiplash of the issue. After the violence clears and it seems like Foy and the Knight may finally have reached a turning point, the artwork allows the mood to soften just enough for the reader to believe that relief might be coming. That makes the final twist hit harder, because the visuals help lull the audience into a brief sense of hope before the story pulls everything away again. The expressions, body language, and framing of the confrontation with Joan D’Arc all help sell the discomfort of the scene, making it clear that this meeting is not going to unfold the way Foy expected. Rico Renzi’s colors add even more energy to the issue, giving the battlefield a harsh, vivid quality while also making the quieter moments feel uneasy and dramatic. The color choices make the violence pop without overwhelming the storytelling, and they help every major beat feel distinct. Together, Roberts and Renzi make the issue visually explosive, emotionally sharp, and perfectly suited to the dark fantasy tone of the series.

CHECK OUT MY REVIEW OF CORPSE KNIGHT #3

Final Thoughts:

Corpse Knight #4 takes the reader on a kickass ride that appears to be ending with our “heroes” meeting their hero and all being well in the world. However, the rug is completely pulled from under us and the series takes a twist that will surely lead to some interesting events going forward. If the twist isn’t enough to hook you for next issue, nothing ever will. If you like adventure, violence, mythological, horror, fantasy, then this is the series for you. Make sure to buy a copy or two or three at the LCS this week and buckle yourself in for one hell of a surprise.

FINAL GRADE: 9.2/10

Let me know your thoughts on Corpse Knight #4 in the comments below. Thanks for reading!