In August 2024, we had the good fortune to chat with Garth Ennis, the talented writer behind numerous fan-favorite titles like Hitman, The Punisher, Sara, Marjorie Finnegan, and Temporal Criminal. He’s perhaps best known as the co-creator of The Boys and Preacher. Our conversation at that time centered on his collaboration with artist Jacen Burrows for Ahoy’s Babs, a title we enjoyed so much it landed on that year’s Best of List.
On January 14th, Ennis and Burrows bring fans Ahoy Comics’ second volume of their BABS saga, titled BABS: The Black Road South. In advance of this much-anticipated release, we caught up once again with the talented writer to discuss their newest version of the adventures of BABS. So, let’s welcome back Garth Ennis to GVN Talking Comics.
Plans in Place for another BABS Adventure
GVN: Thanks for visiting with us again, Garth. The last time we spoke was about (appropriately enough) was about your first volume of BABS for Ahoy Comics. When you created this story along with artist Jacen Burrows, did you have the groundwork laid out for a follow-up at that time, or did you not consider it until you could gauge the reaction to the initial series?
GARTH: Generally I get a sense pretty early on with any character whether I want to do more with them, whether their story is finite or not. I knew as soon as I started writing her that Babs had terrific potential. Partly it’s the world she lives in, with much fun to be had skewering sword & sorcery’s most sacred cattle; partly it’s Babs herself, with just the right combination of shitty attitude and bad luck to keep her rolling along. That her greed, violence and nasty sense of humour (i.e. mine) would sustain her for further adventures was obvious.There are few other characters I’ve felt so immediately comfortable writing.
Emphasizing Humor and Social Critique
GVN: Your work often blends dark humor with social critique—how does BABS: THE BLACK ROAD SOUTH continue or diverge from that tradition, and is it important to you to incorporate these elements into your stories?
GARTH: I don’t see how you can write in this genre and not incorporate some degree of humour; I just can’t take wizards and elves and dragons and so on that seriously. Same goes for superhero stories (although there’s no question that some truly excellent work has been done by taking a more straight-faced approach, eg. Miracleman and Watchmen). As far as social critique goes, in this one I’m putting that on the back-burner and instead taking a closer look at Babs herself. I’m wondering how far I can take the idea of a wandering mercenary while still maintaining the audience’s sympathy, which I think will be a question of idealism versus what we might call practicality. People like to think they know what they’d do in any given situation, as regards temptation and opportunity—but are they always honest about their assertions?
The Challenges of Sword and Sorcery Tales
GVN: In our last discussion, you mentioned something that I found fascinating:
“Sword & sorcery is a genre I’m not normally drawn to—I was just saying in another interview that what attracts me to it is also what I find lazy about so much of it, the notion that in a fantasy world anything can happen at any time, and you can invent whatever magic spell or enchanted creature you deem necessary to get your heroine out of trouble. That makes for a lot of dull storytelling, and I do tend to avoid most of the material I see out there, but it also provides for a certain degree of comedic potential.”
As you developed this new chapter for Ahoy, has that opinion changed at all?
GARTH: Not at all, in fact, it’s probably been reinforced. It’s the potential I see going unexplored in the genre that’s brought me back, and that at the same time keeps me away from most sword & sorcery series I see (equally, when I see someone doing something interesting and original with it, I’m keen to read more—Brian Vaughan’s Saga, for instance, which is sword & sorcery in space but essentially fits with what we’re talking about). I think it’s a useful genre for exploring certain classic tropes; increasingly I find myself asking, whether you’re talking about a hero or a villain, what if a character is actually just a person? What if the hero has to earn a living when they’re not being heroic? What if the dark overlord of all that is evil realizes they didn’t want the job after all? Actually, there’s a dragon in Issue 2 that explores some of these very ideas.
Babs: The Black Road South
GVN: As I mentioned, I loved your first BABS series. For those who might have missed the first one, could you give an idea of what BABS: THE BLACK ROAD SOUTH will entail, and can a new reader jump into this new chapter without having read the first series (which I recommend they do)?
GARTH: For once in her life Babs has actually gotten her hands on some cash—not a fortune, but a tidy sum—and along with her good pal Izzy has invested it in a venture that could pay off big time. Unfortunately, what ensues is an unplanned and rather catastrophic trip down memory lane, as Babs is forced to revisit her wildest, deadliest adventure to date—bringing her face to face with an old acquaintance she’d much rather have forgotten. Some years ago our heroine took the Black Road South to the hellish land of Mordynn, and the world as she knows it was nearly torn apart. Now she’s going back, very much against her will, with the twin goals of survival and secrecy (i.e. keeping a lid on her own rather dubious role in events) foremost in her mind.
I recommend new readers check out the first series too, but ultimately they’ll learn enough about Babs in the opening pages of this one to get the idea. I will say this: regular users of one of London Underground’s oldest and best-known subway lines may just find their reading pleasure enhanced by the experience. Slightly.
Keeping the Tale Fresh Creatively
GVN: When it comes to your collaboration with Jacen on BABS: The Black Road South, does it get easier or more challenging once you have pretty much established your characters and the world they inhabit? Do you look to create scenes or situations to stretch his artistic muscles in the framework of the new story?
GARTH: I think we reached a kind of peak creative energy in our collaboration some time ago, meaning that each new story just brings us greater enjoyment. There’s nothing Jacen can’t handle, nothing he won’t make shine. I put quite a lot of dark humour in this story, especially as regards the sins of the past reaching out to sully and endanger the present, and Jacen has managed some quite stunning work in both contemporary and flashback sequences. It’s up to him to make the twists and turns of the story work, and he never fails. Whenever I come up with something new, I know he’ll take it in his stride—so am I testing him? He’s the best judge of that, but I certainly never see any sign of him flagging.
The Possibilities of a Third BABS Installment
GVN: Thank you once again, Garth. In closing, since we will have two volumes of BABS, do you have a third idea in mind for future consumption? Speaking for myself, I can never get enough BABS, Izzy, Barry the talking sword, and their cast of misfits.
GARTH: I am starting to pull ideas together for a third series, yes. I’d like to take a look at Babs’ origin, which has been hinted at a couple of times. I’d also like to revisit some of the characters from the first series and find out how they’re progressing (or not). Mork the Orc was fun to write, and I liked Gerry and Emma, the endlessly bickering king and queen of the undead—be interesting to see how they ended up the way they did.
Babs is one of those happy projects you run across from time to time—I like working with Jacen, I like the guys at AHOY, it’s generally all good. I may in fact have another project with AHOY sometime soon, something sorta-kinda-vaguely-maybe not a million miles away from Babs. Possibly.
Ahoy Comics BABS: The Black Road South, Issue 1 by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows, releases on January 14th. If the original series is any indication, look for a bloody and irreverent good time.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
