Series: Fence

Review – Fence, vol 5

Posted October 6, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Fence, vol 5

Fence: Rise

by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad, Joanna LaFuente, Jim Campbell

Genres: Graphic Novels
Pages: 110
Series: Fence #5
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

En Garde! Excitement is in the air as Nicholas and his friends celebrate their prestigious invitation to the Halverton Training Camp. But they soon find themselves pushed to their limits as they come face-to-face with the best teams in the country. Will a new addition to the opposing team help Nicholas awaken the fighting spirit he needs to prevail? And what will it mean for his friendship with Seiji?

So much to love about the fifth volume of C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad’s Fence! Bobby is adorable, and I love that he gets to be the team manager, and I especially love the relationship between him and Dante. The fact that Dante would clearly get into anything Bobby wants to do is just… gaah, so cute.

Nicholas and Seiji’s relationship continues to develop, as well, and I like that though Nicholas has some flashes of brilliance and speed, the story never pretends he’s going to easily skill-up to beat Seiji. He has a long way to go, for all his enthusiasm and bluster, and we see that repeatedly, even where it might be tempting to give him a quick glow-up to match Seiji.

I do also enjoy Harvard and Aiden’s closeness; please just date, you idiots.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Fence, vol 4

Posted September 8, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Fence, vol 4

Fence: Rivals

by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad, Joanna LaFuente

Genres: Graphic Novels
Pages: 113
Series: Fence #4
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

The GLAAD Award nominated series Fence returns as a graphic novel series as best-selling novelist C.S. Pacat (Captive Prince) and popular online sensation Johanna The Mad present the next all-new thrilling chapter of the Kings Row fencing team! Just as Nicholas, Seiji and the fencing team at the prodigious Kings Row private school seem to be coming together, a deadly rival from their past stands in their way once more. MacRobertson is the school that knocked Kings Row out of the State Championships last year - but unless Nicholas and Seiji can learn to work together as a team, their school is doomed once again! And maybe those two can learn to be something more than teammates too...

The fourth volume of C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad’s Fence is still pretty predictable: having fenced as individuals so far, it’s time for them to fence as a team — which means they run smack into Seiji’s insistence on individual achievement. The event concludes satisfyingly all the same, of course.

What did surprise me, even though I kinda saw it coming, was Seiji coming to help Nicholas improve. I knew they were going to get close, but the scene kind of surprised me all the same, because it was intense and stood out as a quietly very emotional moment.

I wasn’t sure how this would move anywhere like a relationship between Seiji and Nicholas, but this volume managed a shift in their relationship that made it make sense.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Fence, vol 3

Posted August 10, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Fence, vol 3

Fence

by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad, Joanna LaFuente

Genres: Graphic Novels
Pages: 112
Series: Fence #3
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

From the superstar team of C.S. Pacat (The Captive Prince) and fan-favorite artist Johanna the Mad comes the third volume of this acclaimed, dynamic series.

C.S. Pacat’s Fence series continues to be fun in volume three, still illustrated beautifully by Johanna the Mad and Joana LaFuente. The stakes are high in this volume, with Nicholas’ scholarship hanging in the balance — and that cliffhanger at the end, of course!

I love the character interactions and insights in this volume (ah, Eugene, wow, you’re lovely), even if the beats are still pretty predictable. As I’ve said before, it’s a good kind of predictable, at least to me.

Also, let’s just enjoy Bobby, who just happens to dress in femme clothing, but nobody ever says a word about it. I do love all the character designs a lot, and Bobby’s adorable.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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