Comic Review: Fence #9

Fence #9

BOOM! Studios

Writer: C.S Pacat

Artists: Johanna The Mad & Joana Lafuente

What do you fence for? Why do you want to win this match?

Those are the questions that drive our competitors in Fence #9. We are heading towards the end of the tournament, and the stakes are high for many who are trying out for the team. This issue focuses on Nicholas and Kally, who both have two losses so far. Unfortunately for them, two losses seem to be the cutoff for making the team, and they are about to fence against each other. Whoever loses this match will likely miss out on joining the team this year.

C.S Pacat continues to write a drama-filled script that is constantly entertaining. Nicholas and Kally are in similar situations but are wildly different personalities. They are also completely different fencers. Pacat uses flashbacks and internal monologues to show what exactly fuels the hopeful competitors. The flashbacks are especially effective at allowing the reader to empathize with Kally, who has gotten very little attention so far.

The actual match itself is exciting through and through and lives up to the hype that was built up before it. Both competitors channel their motivations into an excellent fencing match with an exciting finish. The match is as easy to follow as always largely in part to Johanna The Mad’s art. The characters’ forms look realistic, while their movements are easy for the reader to follow. The fencing has the feeling of fluidity to them, despite all of the action being on pictures without motion.

Joana Lafuente’s colors continue to breathe a little extra life into Fence. Without the colors, most of Fence would suffer from a lack of detail. Instead, blank backgrounds have extra punch added to them due to appropriate color pallets. Moments of simple dialogue have neutrals greys, blues, and purples, while the actual fencing match feels fast with reds, yellows, and oranges.

Fence continues to be one of the best Western slice-of-life comics available. It’s a joy to read, with just the right amount of drama to make it compelling and easy to relate to.