Babs: The Black Road South #4 Review
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Jacen Burrows
Colorist: Andy Troy
Logo, Production & Letterer: Rob Steen
Cover Artists: Jacen Burrows & Andy Troy; Erica
Henderson
Editor: Tom Peyer
Publisher: Ahoy Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: June 17, 2026
After defeating childhood bully Yorikk the Ginger, Babs took
on more soldiers, a green cyclops, and a panda with a unicorn horn. Then, after
booking a night in the Tyrannical Suite, Babs and Izzy wowed the crowd in Pale
Elric’s with their rendition of “Like The Sonj.” Unfortunately, before returning
to their hotel, they stopped by the Invest-A-Quest booth and invested their
winnings in an expedition into the Shadowlands of Mordynn.
After misfortune struck the fellowship, Babs and Izzy
huddled in a tent, while the knight Colin Culpepper paid obeisance to his
fallen idol. When a pack of Snowpeckers attacked, Babs suborned Colin’s
ultimate image of womanhood as a snowboard. As they sped away on the frozen
body of Lilith Lazuli on the dark and snowy night, the trio toppled off a
cliff. Can Babs’ talking sword advise them on how to survive the fall? And why
is Babs having a Bad Hair Year? Let’s leap into Babs: The Black Road South #4
and see!
Story
Clinging to the muscular, bikini-clad corpse, Babs, Izzy,
and Colin scream epithets to their plight as they plummet into a chasm. But
when they splash into an underground sea, the trio must make their way to shore
before their musclebound ride vehicle thaws. The journey grows more unsettling
as the magic that cursed the land revives Lilith. Her tough-girl consciousness
may have died. Still, her motor skills respond to verbal commands.
As Izzy traveled in the fellowship, she had wondered why
Babs dreaded returning to Mordynn. The landscape didn't gel with Mordynn’s
reputation as a hellscape filled with monsters. When they reach the coast of
this underground world, Izzy discovers the corrupted, primordial land lurking
beneath the vibrant surface. After the first Snowpecker attack that destroyed
their company, she realizes the second cannot have been a coincidence. So, amid
the dangers of this bleak underground world, Izzy decides it is time for her
friend to explain why she was so reluctant to return to Mordynn in Babs: The
Black Road South #4.
In Grant Morrison's story, Izzy and Colin learn more about
the history of this dark land. They confront more of its cursed inhabitants.
And as the ladies shrug off the dishonorable act that quenched the fire of
Colin’s magic sword, they confront the person responsible for the two
Snowpecker attacks that reduced their well-supplied company to a trio and a
bikini-clad zombie in Babs: The Black Road South #4.
Art
As they fall into the chasm, the snow-covered opening,
replete with stalactites and stalagmites, resembles a toothy maw. When they
emerge from a cave tunnel, they descend one of many waterfalls. After splashing
into Mordynn’s inner sea, the trio perch atop Lilith’s still body. Ahead, a
stand of trees, barren of foliage or branches, evokes the trials of another
Hobbit-filled fellowship. A downshot reveals the spark of life that awakens a
remnant of Lilith’s consciousness. An upshot reveals Babs and Izzy’s horror, as
the earnest knight peers down between them.
While they battled the Snowpeckers, the yellow-and-orange that
crept into the snowy sky evoked the warmth of the campfire they had left
behind. When Babs, Izzy, and Colin descend into the chasm, the memory of the
fiery sky and the blue waterfall contrast with the gray sea and land the
adventurers encounter in Babs: The Black Road South #4.
Andy Troy paints the
sky in similarly fiery tones in Babs' memories, as she travels alongside a
Hobbit, and flies on a dragon past volcanoes spewing lava. Even Lilith's blue
hair is less vibrant in this bleak land. Yet as Jacen Burrows showcases
Lilith’s subdued nature, the barbarian queen retains a vestige of what made
Colin admire her. And when day gives way to night, the vivid colors of the
triune fellowship return beneath a crimson sky.
Like the land they travel through, black uppercase letters
fill white dialogue balloons. The letters grow bold for intonation, swell for
raised voices, and shrink for distance. Amid a glimpse of the past or Babs’
imagination, Rob Steen’s sound effects demonstrate the depths of Mordynn’s evil.
Bonus Features:
Angelique Fawns illustrates a young woman’s struggle to find
love and better her life in Elena and the Belligerent Zeno Beets. Rob Steens’
accompanying illustration demonstrates the dangers of tinkering with nature. As
Joe Orsak pays homage to an iconic cover from comics history, Kek-W champions a
forsaken era of comics in Potato-Chip Rick Mansplains the Pewter Age of Comics.
An editorial page hailing the merits of 19th-century poetry accompanies the
prose stories. Thanks to Ahoy Comics and Superfan Promotions for providing a
review copy.
Final Thoughts
Some things may be easy to explain, such as Babs’ hairstyle.
Others are harder to ignore, like how she knocked a Hobbit into a lake of fire.
But what becomes clear as she returns to Mordynn is that Babs bears some of the
responsibility for the shadow that lingers over the blighted land in Babs: The
Black Road South #4.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see my preview of Babs: The Black Road South #4.
For what happened last time, see my review of Babs: The Black Road South #3.
For what happened when Babs went There, And yes, Back Again, see my preview of Babs: The Black Road South #2.
For how this series started, see my review of Babs: The Black Road South #1.
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