If One Tree Hill and basically any sports manga out there had a literary lovechild that grew up to be queer and was also invested in fencing, that’d be Fence.
Written by Australian author C.S. Pacat and with art by Johanna the Mad and colors by Juana Lafuente, this series got me invested by the end of the first issue. Heck, from the moment character design posts went up on Tumblr in the months previous, I was hyped. I was intensely invested in Western creators’ comics that were obviously inspired by their love of Japanese sports manga as well as their own experiences with sports in the United States and Fence seemed like it’d be my thing.
And it was!
Pacat and Johanna (who created the series together) come together to make a charming and absolutely engaging sports-drama with diverse queer characters right on the page. I love everything about Fence so far. Six issues in and I’m beyond invested in the way that character development is revealing more and more about the complex characters and their backstories. The art is cute and crisp, the characters are interesting, and the drama is never-ending. It is everything I could’ve asked for from such a series.
Legit, from the first issue I had favorite characters and even some light shipping going on. It’s a series that seems tailor-made for fandom and I hope it gets a good one!
If you’re like me and you love Ngozi Ukazu’s Check, Please, I’d suggest checking out Fence as issues 1-6 are available now on Comixology/Amazon.
Don’t forget to reach out to the creators if you enjoy the series!
(And come talk to me about the series too!)
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