A Tale of Boys and Their Stiff, Pointy Things: A Review of Fence Vol. I

written by C.S. Pacat
drawn by Johanna the Mad
colored by Joana LaFuente

This title was not on my radar at all. What happened was that while I was at my preferred local comics shop picking up my regular titles, my daughter saw one of the single issues on the shelves and, smitten with the art, asked me to pick it up. I suggested we just wait for the trade paperback instead, as I didn't know how long the series would run, and my daughter has a shelf for her collected editions anyway.

It took some waiting, but a little over a week ago she finally got her hands on the first volume of Fence, which collects issues #1 to #4.

Fence is the story of Nicholas Cox, the illegitimate son of Olympic fencing legend Robert Coste, who yearns to follow in his father's footsteps and is willing to go to great lengths to do it, including enrolling under a scholarship in the elite boys school Kings Row where he may get his only shot at fencing glory. Unfortunately, despite his raw talent, he didn't start of with the best of trainers, which means he faces a tough time against the school's talented fencers, who include Harvard, Eugene, and the fencing prodigy Seiji Katayama, whose only loss came at the hands of Cox's half-brother, and Coste's legitimate son Jesse. But Cox isn't about to let these obstacles get in his way.

I've never been a manga fan, much less a sports manga fan, and while I enjoyed "imitation" anime like Avatar: The Last Airbender, I'm not so sure I can say the same about this "imitation" manga, though for the most part I quite like Johanna the Mad's crisp artwork. I like how Pacat really dives into the world of fencing (having apparently dabbled in it quite a bit herself in her student days); her explanations of the sport, which could easily feel a bit too expository, are woven quite well into the narrative. I also like how easily Pacat establishes why Cox goes through life with a massive chip on his shoulder; it's not too forced.

I chuckled a bit at all the homoeroticism taking place in an all boys' school, with one of the prominent supporting characters, Bobby, basically being a transgender girl (though he's consistently referred to as "he" so I find myself a bit confused at how the terminology works) and another supporting character, Aiden, screwing a fair share of students, even rival fencers, in more ways than one. I suppose it's the sort of thing that can happen in a boarding school for boys, though I honestly don't know if such a school would allow a boy to go around wearing skirts. Wonderfully tolerant of them, I suppose.

What I didn't appreciate at all is that this collected edition doesn't end the story. I was irritated enough that Marvel has been doing this with quite a few of their more recent story lines, and figured that an independent comic book wouldn't be as rude, but the story ends on absolute cliffhanger, without even a vaguely satisfactory ending. That's quite a shame, because it's an otherwise interesting read, especially for someone who's lived on a diet of superhero comics for years.

I have to say, though, that this would probably make a comicsgater apoplectic...which is why it would be a great Christmas present for any comicsgater you know! :)

6.5/10