Fence

I loved it and the whole series so far

I guess you could technically say the cast of characters are diverse, although most of them seem to be queer in some way. So diverse from the “norm”? Yes. Diverse as in lots of different identities and sexualities? Not really 😅

oh my gosh, they were roommates

Oh, gay fencing. I love it. This is clearly inspired by sports manga, you know the ones: Free, Yuri on Ice and Haikyuu. It has that sport rivalry with gay undertones. (I presume it's gonna get gayer right?)

There's a lot of cliches and overused tropes, but this case I don't mind at all. It's a tad cheesy, but in all the right ways. The characters are entertaining, and I am already shipping Nicholas and Seji!! Looking forward to reading to reading more of these two.

ROOMMATES AND SPORT WHAT ELSE DO I NEED?

I enjoyed it a lot.
The art is amazing and I loved the characters. It's cute with lots of banter.
Can't wait to pick up the next volume.

This book is so good. I told myself I was going to take it slowly and only read these on the bus but alas. I blazed through all three of the volumes I had access to on Scribd. These are excellent. They are short. Delightful. Juicy. Read them. Give yourself the satisfaction.

i don't know how i feel about it. it wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst. i'll give volume 2 a try

I've been in a bit of a reading slump, and this short graphic novel was blessedly easy to finish. I've never read a book about fencing, and I like Johanna's art style a lot. But I can't help but compare it to [b:Check, Please! 27411088 Check, Please! Year One Ngozi Ukazu https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553093426i/27411088.SX50.jpg 47459627], which I preferred to this for a few reasons.Sometimes Pacat's writing felt too direct, like the characters were telling me exactly what was happening and how to react. It was too short for much to happen, yet excess time was spent reminding the reader what had just happened and rehashing well-established dynamics.I'll probably pick up [b:Volume 2 40538763 Fence, Vol. 2 (Fence #5-8) C.S. Pacat https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529625513i/40538763.SY75.jpg 68065724] at some point, to see where the story is headed.

This is my first sports themed comic (which seems to be heavily influenced by sports manga) and although watching the matches can be exciting, I can't say I'm terribly impressed with this comic.

I liked the drama and the tension, and I did learn a lot about fencing. I also liked the art style. However, some characters are a bit trope-y (high school manga archetypes), and some (Aiden) are insanely annoying.

The protagonist has some nice qualities to him, but my friends pointed out one thing that doesn't make much sense - why did a kid so poor he has to help his mom pay the bills get into a sport meant for rich people? Okay, they explain how he got his lessons, but how on earth did he afford to get the equipment? It's like the creators wanted him to be ultra-underdog for this one...

On the other hand, I did enjoy reading the first volume (compared to the later ones, which will be reviewed separately), so I can't say it was all that bad. I cared about Nicholas's success, I started liking some of the characters and (before reading volumes 2 and 3) it looked like this story has potential. I mean, it still does. It's just the later issues fell victim to an obvious lack of time on the part of both the writer and the artists, which is most likely not their fault, so I don't want to criticize them too much.

FAVE!

I absolutely loved reading this one. There are some very serious moments, but then sudden moments of humor that really bright it up. I laughed so hard at these moments which seemed to be poking fun at the usual progression of sports graphic novels.
There is a lot hinted at to come in both story and relationship lines.

Fence est une série de comics scénarisée par C.S. Pacat et illustrée par Johannna The Mad. Elle se déroule dans l'univers de l'escrime, un sport que j'ai rarement vu que ce soit dans les bandes dessinées ou dans les dessins animés inspirés de mangas. Elle met en scène des adolescents américains qui veulent tous intégrer l'équipe d'escrime de leur lycée.

Le premier album regroupe les quatre premières numéros du comics. C'est un album avec une inspiration manga pour le « character design » et globalement dans le style du dessin : c'est un cocktail d'ingrédients qui pouvait me plaire.

Eh bien je dois dire que je n'ai pas été déçu ! Cet album d'un peu plus de cent pages m'a énormément plu : c'est fun, joliment illustré, un peu voire clairement gay par moment.

Les personnages sont sans doute stéréotypés, mais ils sont plutôt sympathiques et on a envie de découvrir leurs aventures sportives, et peut-être sentimentales même si ce n'est qu'effleuré pour le moment. Parmi les protagonistes, les deux principaux sont clairement Nicholas, le fils illégitime d'un champion olympique d'escrime, au fort potentiel mais à la technique défaillante, qui cherche sa place dans ce lycée de futurs champions ; et Seiji, l'un des grands espoirs dans sa classe d'âge, une pépite quasi-invaincue lors de son arrivée au lycée, mais dont la modestie ne semble pas être le point le plus fort.

Le récit n'est pas forcément très surprenant pour le moment, mais c'est plaisant à lire et à regarder, c'est très efficace et j'ai bien aimé les quelques cases pédagogiques sur l'escrime.

Loved the art style and I have always been a fan of sports anime which this is in comic-form. I can't wait to read more about the team and their interpersonal relationships, and how they all develop as characters. There's so much potential with all the groundwork that the authors laid down in these first issues of the comic!

I picked up the first issue from a Books-a-Million in Montgomery, AL while on a business trip and had to buy the first volume immediately after reading it. Looking forward to the next volume!

I picked this up purely based on the rave reviews it has been getting across the bookish internet community. It really held up to those reviews!

Fence follows a young boy trying to become a nationally ranked fencing champion. He faces a lot of prejudice and he has a pretty big chip on his shoulder that he will need to overcome on his journey. So far the world hasn't really been fleshed out yet, but it is vibrant and engaging so far. I think the second volume will hopefully develop the characters more because currently that is lacking for me. The art is gorgeous and I really liked seeing all the alternate covers at the end of the volume.

I am excited for the volumes to come and I think this will be a series I will try to keep up with as it is published.

4.5 stars (Read for Queerlit readathon). OMG! I wasn't sure this would be for me. I know nothing about fencing and it's not something that particularly interest me. BUT I AM HOOKED. I just want Nicholas and Seiji to kiss already. I love the enemies to lover trope AND