Fence: Redemption #1

Fence: Redemption (Single Issues) #1

by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad (Artist)

USA Today best-selling author C. S. Pacat (Dark Knights of Tales From the Three Kingdoms, Dark Rise) and acclaimed cartoonist Johanna the Mad (Wynd) continue their winning streak with the continuation of the on-point GLAAD Media Award-nominated series!
Return to the thrilling world of high-stakes, competitive fencing with a brand new story featuring the beloved cast of characters from the original hit series.
Are Seiji and Jesse really through? The rumors around Halverton, the prestigious fencing training camp, have spread like wildfire, but it’s not long before a mystery fencer arrives–one who may finally pose a threat to the #1 spot.
Will Seiji’s unquenchable quest for rivalry be what finally makes him leave Nicholas behind?

Genres: LGBT, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Sports, Comics, Contemporary, Queer

25 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2023

About the author

C.S. Pacat is the USA-Today best-selling author of Dark Rise, the Captive Prince trilogy, and the GLAAD-nominated graphic novels Fence.

Born in Australia and educated at the University of Melbourne, C.S. Pacat has lived in a number of cities, including Tokyo and Perugia, and currently resides and writes in Melbourne.

Reviews

[Brigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

That's it, that's the review XD

(but seriously, I love them and I need more!!!)

[Valeria · Rating 4 out of 5]

AMOOO A MIS CHICOSS!!

Sigo enamorada Nicholas como la primera vez que lo leí y aún me mantengo fangirl respecto a Seiji.
Veo una evolución entre la relación del equipo y eso me gusta, los veo a todos más compactos.

Sigo diciendo que Nicholas, tiene aún un largo camino por descubrir quién es y me gusta saber que tiene personas que siempre lo apoyan.
No obstante, creo que necesito que tenga una conversación seria con Seiji y también con si mismo sobre las inseguridades que tiene respecto a las expectativas que él mismo se impuso.

Sigue siendo muy adictivo y mientras siga así, los leeré por siempre.

[Cristine (aaron warner’s version) ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicholas and Seiji pls

[Rhosyo MT · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️🤺🤺🤺
It’s morning, I just made my tea, prepared some cookies… and grabbed my Kindle because FENCE REDEMPTION 1 was waiting for me to be immediately consumed.
And I did consume it, too fast…😖
Best breakfast in so long! Short, but good!
Why do good things always come in small doses?

What can I say to make people read this? Fence is the BEST! Excellent sports comic.
It’s like Slam Dunk but adding to the perfect competitive sport story the SLOW BURN we were all really rooting for. Haruko was lovely, but she needed her own Dante-type-of-guy… and to leave Hanamichi and Rukawa to be happy together fighting and challenging each other non-stop.

Please gods, let Fence have LOTS of [chapters/volumes/or whatever format works for TheMad and Pacat] to come. I want to one day see how Nicholas finally sees himself as integral and unique as he truly was all along. And I want to see Seiji dying at the altar of that True Greatness, knowing that he is also safe, and loved and an equal in every way.
🤺🤺🤺❤️❤️❤️

[gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The amount of gay beef in that room...

[zee reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

kings row fencing team, my beloved 💗💗💗

[airany · Rating 3 out of 5]

25 páginas nunca serán suficientes, necesito que el nicoseiji sea canon para ayer

[Jos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ya quiero saber qué carajos pasó con Jesse aaaaaa

[gemma ♍️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

No thoughts, only Harvard bear

[Nott · Rating 4 out of 5]

good to know who's top, who's bottom, isn't it, lads?

[Saimi Korhonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You and Kyle, you spend a lot of time looking down the ladder. Maybe it makes you feel better about where you are. But I’m not looking down. I’m not even looking at you. I’m looking up.”

The Halverton Training Camp is testing everyone at Kings Row: Bobby has to face his greatest task as team manager yet, Nicholas is working his butt off to master the flick and Seiji has to struggle with his past with Jesse and how it impacts his ability to work and fence.

This issue was classic great Fence fun. There was humor, cute character moments, little flashbacks and some educational sections about fencing rules and what certain terms commonly used mean. Johanna the Mad's art continues to be delightful.

I love these characters to bits and getting to spend more time with them once again made me so happy. I loved how much Bobby we got in this issue cause he is my favorite, and seeing him be a great manager was lovely: he is determined to aid the team any way he can, he is willing to brave the horror of trying to wake Aiden up when you are not Harvard and when he sees his teammates struggle, he is there to help them and talk to them. His friendship with Nicholas continues to be one of my favorite aspects of the series: they are so precious. Seeing him interact more with Aiden was also really fun cause while they are such different personalities, they are still connected by this thing they love and this team, so they are kinda friends. Bobby brandishing a comb and hairspray and getting Aiden's hair done in 5 minutes in a way Aiden likes was truly a sign of Bobby being an under appreciated genius.

Nicholas also had some great moments in this issue. I like how he is trying to focus not just on winning, but also on learning and developing his skills. The constant looming presence that is Jesse Coste is also affecting him due to their secret connection, and seeing him struggle with trying to keep his cool and holding his secret to himself, was fun. We didn't get much of Seiji in this issue, but talk about the looming presence of Jesse Coste affecting someone. Poor Seiji is shooketh by Jesse, and seeing people gossip about their past and what they were to each other, and how Jesse is Seiji's weak spot, made me both sad for Seiji and also so damn intrigued to see what comes next in this new chapter of Fence.

This issue also had some cuteness on the shipping front. We see a bit of Aiden and Harvard's past and it's adorable, and seeing Aiden be absolutely shooketh when this guy mentions off-handedly that Harvard would follow Aiden wherever he went or was, was cute, as was the moment he shared with Harvard after this, when he offered Harvard words of encouragement and Harvard ruffled his hair. I want them to kiss, please.

I cannot wait for issue 2 of Fence: Redemption. This issue ended with a cool cliffhanger of sorts and I need more!!!

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bobby the cutest 😭

[el ✯ ࣪ ˖ · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.25) just felt that the art wasn’t quite up to the usual standard and the plot is starting to feel a bit dragged on

[iz ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5


i cannot wait for the next volume to come out !!!!

[Janessa Paun · Rating 5 out of 5]

The minute that I saw that the next installment of Fence had been published I knew that I had to read it as soon as possible. And, I was right this comic is absolutely incredible. The next day of fencing camp at Halverton begins and some people are improving and looking forwards while some are haunted by their past. Like Seiji whose legend seems so tied up in Jesse and his match at Nationals where he finished in second that it haunts him constantly. But, the team continues to grow stronger together as they push each other, support each other, listen to each other’s stories, and give great encouraging advice. Also, there were a lot of developments in Aiden and Harvard’s relationships which I always love to see, especially as Aiden reflects on their past and the gifts that Harvard has given him.

[Emma (littledollreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

more, please

[Valérie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great story, I only wish we had more volumes per year.

[emwee · Rating 5 out of 5]

the boys are back!

[tomlindrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

amo a esta gente QUIERO MASSSS

[Sarxian (meirinasoe) · Rating 5 out of 5]

C.S. Pacat has done it again.

Love the addition of the sapphic rival coaches!
This is why Pacat needs to write more SAPPHICS!

[ppppp · Rating 4 out of 5]

apuren la cosa 😔

[Moirra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fight Fight Fight Fight

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75 ⭐️

Despite the overall high rating (my heart refuses to leave a bad one), I must say that I am getting truly disillusioned with this story. I don't know, maybe it's the high expectations I made up in my mind, but this is simply not what I think it was bound to be.

The storyline has developed in a strange way — a bit underwhelming if you want my honest opinion — and I believe it is because of the format of comics, which don't allow to extend a storyline nearly as much as a normal novel enables to do. I know the limitations, I truly do, but it's just . . . Pacat started this project with such high stakes — maybe too many? — but as he didn't know for sure whether FENCE would be allowed to continue past the 12th issue, I can see how the story could be somewhat closed by the end of volume 3 (12th issue). Since that moment, everything has gone downhill with no brakes.

The novels, for instance, which I personally enjoyed at the moment (and I'm too lazy now to go change the rating), but I can totally see how I'm just biased and they aren't very good at portraying the characters — not to mention that they aren't even canon so we're basically paying to read fanfiction, which I find pretty insulting, bearing in mind that in AO3 we've got fanfics with such higher quality and storyline.

This issue follows the same problems as volumes 4 and 5 and the novels do. The portrayal of the characters is not good, simply because it's not the characterisation they got at the beginning, and there's no sufficient growth leading to a pivotal change like this deserves:

- Eugene's personality is gone *poof* and now he's more of a side character than he was, but is even worse because you can clearly tell how Pacat randomly remembers his existence and throws a line for him which has literally no importance just so we don't forget he's there.

- Nicholas' fierce personality? Whiped out for good, too. I'm sooo frustated at this specifically because Nicholas is absolutely my favourite and it pains me to see him becoming — to be bold — a dumb dog. This inevitably impacts his relationship with Seiji, shifting from a rivalry to an undeserved friendship for which none of them has worked *enough* for.

I'm sure I'm leaving some things unsaid, but you get my point (or maybe you don't, that's fine too. I'm always open and curious to hear others' opinions).

Honestly, I think the best we can hope for with this series is for it to have a "proper" ending before it gets cancelled and left unfinished. Even if it means sacrificing character development in the way.

It's truly a shame because this series had a lot of potential to become an amazing sport comic — an astounding one alone — but it's following the steps to end up as an average one at best.

[VVivacious · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fence, at this point, has been going on for six years and yet it feels like this story hasn't really gotten anywhere which makes me happy because that means this story will probably go on for a long time but it also means that it will be a very very long time before I get to read all of it.

I really don't know if this is the norm for graphic novels but it's mighty unbearable and I have a newfound respect for people who read graphic novels, especially with such large time periods of commitment involved. But, I have a feeling that even by graphic novels' standards Fence is releasing a little too slowly. It seems to completely disappear for months at a time only to suddenly reappear when I least expect it.

With this issue, I was completely caught off guard because the last I checked up on Fence there was literally no news on what was coming out next and then all of a sudden this issue had already been out for a week. I was surprised, to say the least. Also, with this issue, Fence is back to single issues which I thought we had abandoned at the end of issue #12 but here we are again. Though I'm kind of happy with the development because at least it means that Fence will be in my life consistently over the next four months.

Despite the amount of waiting involved all of my ire evaporates the moment I start reading because all of a sudden I'm thrust back into this amazing world of fencing and it's like nothing I have experienced before. I love how much this story has been teaching me about fencing because I realised the info dumps could be kind of irritating but they are not, they are fascinating.

Of course, the story is still moving at a snail's pace but at least we are headed for some drama in the coming issues and I can't wait. I'm really amazed at how well this story builts up anticipation while hardly nudging the story along. It's really masterful at that.

I'm still on the lookout for whether the Fence companion novels are canon and I really hope they are because I loved them. But we still haven't gotten a confirmation one way or the other. So, far the story has really been doing a tight rope walk to not lean to heavily one way or the other.

But, despite it all, I'm really looking forward to all the drama that Exton's arrival is going to cause and I only have to wait (less than) a month! Whee!!

[Taryn Palmisano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Fence. There, I said it. But I'm not ignorant to the many issues that stand in the way of making it a *really* great comic.

The character development in the beginning of the series and the whole set up is flawless. We have a contemporary LGB+ sport comic here that folds the rules of fencing into the story in such a way that is exciting and informative rather than condescending. The premise of the story; the secret illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion getting accepted to the prodigious fencing school of his dreams in hopes of making the team. Him facing not only his golden-boy half-brother, but the unbeatable, mysterious Seiji Katayama. The tensions fly. The sparks....not so much.

This is the slowest slow slow burn of semi-kinda-romances ever. So slow burn that I find myself rereading issues to see if I made it all up in my head. There are at least three romance couplings we are rooting for here and I have had to sit down with myself a bit and come to grips with maybe none of them ever happening. What the hell is happening?

What hurts equally as bad is the amount of time that passes between each issue being published. Because of this the slow pace of the comic feels even slower. We've been on this journey of year one with these characters for 5 freaking years. Holy hell.

Please, C.S.Pacat, pretty fucking please give us a kiss in the next issue.

I would recommend this comic/series because even though it's making my eye twitch I'm here for it.
C.S.Pacat is a great writer and Johanna the Mad is super skilled.

[Miss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the original Fence series from October to December of 2018 and have been sitting on these issues since they came out. I'm finally diving in and realize that I remember nothing. It's the same author and illustrator, but it all feels so foreign. I, unfortunately, didn't review my reads back then, so I need to reread the original 12 issues to get the most out of this. Especially because I thought Aiden and Havard and Nicholas and Seiji were established in those issues, but this feels like it starts right back where the original series did with Seiji and Nicholas still rivals and Aiden and Harvard oblivious about their feeling toward each other being more than friendship and teammates. Am I misremembering or did I maybe consume too much fanart and fanfiction after reading the original series.

All of that said, I think this miniseries can stand on its own so I'm going to finish it before rereading the first 12 issues. If the other issues are fresh in your head, I imagine you'll love this. If, like me, you're struggling with what you vaguely remember from the other issues, shake that off and commit to just seeing where this goes.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay okay okay I have so many thoughts.

First let me just say, the first five volumes I only read as full volumes so I could have a chunk of four to read at one time, but I couldn’t hold off any more and I needed to get my Fence fix.

And we get so much here!!! We get Aiden in glasses before his glow up and he is ADORABLE. The story of Harvard giving him his bear killed me.

And then we get so many little teasers! Why does Harvard really struggle with his low lines? What went on between Jesse and Seiji? Are the rival coaches gonna fall in love?? We just don’t know!

Honestly though, the wait between releases is a killer, especially with the slow burn. I forget what’s happened in the last volume and have to catch up. But I love Fence so much!!

[Ghada ツ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only qualm with this series is that new issues never seem to come out nearly as fast enough. I had high hopes for Redemption and I was not disappointed: The character dynamics are (mostly) soul-cleansing and their growth curves are insane. I love this friendship/rivalry thing that is blooming between Seiji and Nicolas. I love how it's fueling each of their own personal development and I can't wait to see more of the Kings Row boys.

Also, is this hinting at there being more between Seiji and Jesse at some point? I hope not because ew.

[ribbonknight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually hadn’t realized that Fence had returned to single-issue comics until I saw this and #2 on the shelf at the store! I’m happy to support the series in this way, and delighted to get smaller doses more frequently. Lots of setting up this mini arc training camp here, but it’s done in such cute ways with the graphics that I don’t kind the info-dumps.
It’s the best of shojo manga relationships combined with shonen sports manga. And Johanna the Mad’s Art is just on point, every panel. Love spending time in this series.

[aes ❀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i missed them sm pls <3333 aiden was particularly soft and adorable in this issue and idk when i'll get to read the next issue but i hope it's soon bc i want more backstory on coach williams and coach donati, more exton team content (i love them sm pls i need to know more about them esp marcel and aster and thomas), and (bilang isang hibang) eugesse content like pls even just the smallest crumb will do i just need them to interact in comic canon iiyak na ako (real)