Fence 2

by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad, Joana LaFuente, and Jim Campbell
collects Fence #5-8
volume one | two | three | four

This second volume cooled off the initial love I had for the series – which was RED HOT since I read and reviewed the first book just last week when I was traveling via ComiXology Unlimited. Fence’s next arc only covers the next 24 hours of the tournament, and therefore focuses so much on fencing (and the kids talking about fencing and the coaches meta talking about fencing) that it’s starting to become dull.

Usually in sports stories, the game/tournament also serves as progress or resolution to a character’s growth – the win or the loss isn’t just about the win or the loss, rather the protagonist’s growth through the season, tournament, etc. However, Fence repeats the same tropes for each fencer without going deeper into their own individual personalities or, for the most part, their relationships – therefore there was no additional meaning to the fencing itself or emotional investment in the characters. It doesn’t help that fencing itself is repetitive (especially in a series of still images) and everything was the same aside from opponents facing each other – which, again, had no deeper meaning from an emotional standpoint. These characters just had to spend more time outside of fencing but aside from maybe a few pages that didn’t happen.

If anyone got some investment time it was Harvard and Aidan, but there really needs to be more from Nicholas and Seiji’s relationship, since it’s supposed to be central to the series. Instead we just saw empty repetitive banter. Seiji, fencing robot, is in desperate need of some humanity, and Nicholas’ desperation to prove himself (without any other personality) makes him considerably less likable.

Also, when I say “Nicholas and Seiji’s relationship,” I am also talking about THAT kind of relationship. Uh huh. I mean look at that cover! We are clearly interrupting them from…being enemies! SURE. There are SO many romance hints coming from these two, it’s almost agonizing. They are clearly obsessed with each other even if they pretend to hate each other. (Think Han and Leia, except queer and also fencers.) I would love for Pacat to lean into this just a LITTLE more, because there’s no way it’s unintentional.

Also, in my last review I praised including two women as the coaches, but at this point they’re just talking heads rather than actual people. By that, I mean Sally and Lewis (who hasn’t earned a first name yet) have never left the fencing halls, nor have we seen them do or heard them speak about anything other than these boys and fencing. The one time we see Sally not watching the boys fence, she’s talking to Nicholas about his fencer father, which…snore.

Fence is unique and entertaining (especially when it’s cheesy, predictable, and shamelessly queer), and already wildly popular with a dedicated fanbase. The art remains a delightfully anime style even though several panels looked rushed. Hopefully moving the series to OGNs rather than individual issues will give creators more space to do the character work and better pacing in order to make Fence truly great.