As the latest series of Defoe ends, we catch up with Pat Mills to find out more about his latest creation for 2000AD.  Be warned, there are spoilers for those who haven't yet read the final part of "The Queen of the Zombies".

First off, what attracted you to the post English Civil War era?

The tie in with the Great Fire and the Great Plague of London.  Perfect setting for Zombies and it´s doing something different with them. Plus it was a time of great change and turmoil , excellent for stories.

What, aside from the zombies, are the most significant changes to you've made to historical detail?

It´s a world where Newton´s alchemy and other magical systems worked.  A world where the masonic beliefs of Newton and his contemporaries actually worked.  A world where these "angels" are the power behind the zombies.

How far forward from 1666 would you like to take the Defoe strip.

For now, not much further ahead ... it´s all there

Are there any key events you'd like to build into future episodes?

In flashback... Defoe´s role at the Battle of Naseby.... He was in New Model Army.  Also the role of the Levellers and the murder of Colonel Rainsborough by Damned Jones, Defoe´s friend, which is going to challenge their relationship.

There's clearly a considerable amount of research that goes into Defoe - how do you approach that?

I enjoy research reading info about the period. I live in a very old house contemporary with the period ' so that gets me in the mood  and I also call on a researcher Steve Earles who comes up with some of the bizarre aspects of the period.

The series closes with the unveiling of Faust as the villain for the next book, can you give us any hints of how you'll work him into the timeline?

A character called Faust has been around for two thousand years so he makes for a great villain.

What do you think 2000AD readers need to know about Faust before the next book appears?

Not that much... As in the early books, characters and villains are set up to feature over a period of time.  For instance I refer to Milton in Book One but we haven't met him yet.

How much involvement did you have in choosing Leigh Gallagher as the series artist, and how do you work together?

Matt showed me his work and I thought he was great. It´s a pretty conventional working relationship.  He´s an excellent storyteller.

Many of your characters - Savage, Ro-Busters, Nemesis, ABC Warriors - are tied into an overall timeline (which is nicely summarised in the latest ABC collection) - does Defoe tie into that in any way?

I think that would be too much, I feel.  Similarly, Slaine is in a stand alone world.

Defoe would make a very fine video game - would you consider such an adaptation?

It would make an excellent game ... I doubt I´d be involved but all the material is there for a game designer to draw on.

And as many comic writers are producing video game scripts, is that something you'd consider getting involved with in general?

Yes, I have a bit of a games background from many years back, but didn´t know that writers were actually doing game scripts.  Thats interesting.

Outside of Defoe - what can we expect from you in the next few months?

More Savage.  And I have to keep my French publisher happy on Requiem, Vampire Knight series, which is finally appearing in Britain (from Panini).

The first collection of Defoe is out now - available from Amazon.