Garth Ennis, The Punisher, and the Road to BABS
From War Journals to Barbarian Chaos
There are certain creators you don’t just read. You follow.
For me, Garth Ennis is one of those guys.
And it all goes back to The Punisher.
Before I knew Ennis by name, I knew his tone. His pacing. That sense that when you opened one of his books, anything could happen and probably would.
Then it clicked.
This is the guy.
My guy.
The Punisher was never just another character in the rotation for me. He was a lane I stuck with. I bought him. I collected him. I still collect him.
And yeah, I’ve got a first appearance Punisher from The Amazing Spider-Man #129 in the collection. That book still hits. It’s not just a key issue. It’s a moment. You can feel the shift on the page. This isn’t your typical costumed hero stepping in. This is something else.
And Ennis understood that better than anyone.
His run didn’t try to make Frank Castle fit. It leaned into what made him different. Stripped down, grounded, and unapologetic. Especially in the MAX series, where the gloves came off completely.
No clean endings. No moral reset. Just consequence.
That’s the version that stuck with me.
So when I see Ennis attached to something new, I pay attention.
And now he’s back with something that feels like a completely different lane, but somehow still carries that same DNA.
BABS: THE BLACK ROAD SOUTH.
A savage, funny, sword-and-sorcery story from Ennis, teaming up again with Jacen Burrows and published by AHOY Comics.
This one picks up after their earlier BABS run, throwing a sharp-tongued, sword-swinging barbarian and her partner Izzy into a new mess after a gladiator win turns into something a lot bigger and a lot more dangerous.
It’s six issues. It’s action comedy. And if you know Ennis, you already know it’s not going to play it safe.
On the surface, this is a long way from The Punisher.
No war zones. No urban grit. No skull on the chest.
But if you’ve read enough Ennis, you can see the throughline.
Characters pushed into chaos. Violence with consequences. Humor that cuts through the brutality instead of softening it.
That’s his fingerprint.
Whether it’s Frank Castle walking through a broken world or a barbarian carving a path through one, the core idea is the same.
No illusions. No filters. Just story.
And here’s the thing.
We’re right back in a moment where The Punisher matters again.
You can feel Ennis’ influence all over the Netflix version of the character. That grounded tone. That weight. That sense that actions have consequences. It all traces back to what he built on the page.
Now with a Disney+ Punisher Special Presentation on the horizon and the idea of a Punisher and Spider-Man live action team up back in the conversation, it feels like everything is lining up again.
The Punisher and Garth Ennis have not been this cool in a long time.
And that’s why I’m still here for it.
Because this isn’t about genre. It’s about voice.
From The Punisher to Preacher to The Boys and now BABS, Ennis keeps finding new ways to tell stories that don’t feel like anything else on the shelf.
And if you’ve been following him as long as I have, you know exactly what that means.
You’re in.
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