Fence Vol. 2

Nicholas Cox scraped his way onto Kings Row's reserve fencing squad, and now he has to earn a permanent spot on the strip. Tryouts stretch on for weeks, pitting him against upperclassmen who have trained since childhood. He came to the sport late, so he is fencing on nerve and instinct against opponents with years of formal technique.

His roommate, Seiji Katayama, is supposed to be the easy one: the strongest fencer in their year, cold and self-assured. During tryouts that confidence starts to slip. A history with a former teammate named Jesse resurfaces, and Seiji struggles for the first time since Nicholas has known him.

Around them, the rest of the reserve team fights for the same handful of spots, and matches, practices and late-night arguments in the dorm build the pressure round by round. The result reads as fast, panel-dense sports drama, built from short scenes rather than long training montages, and pitched at a young adult audience.

This is the second collected volume of Fence, gathering issues five through eight of the ongoing series that C.S. Pacat scripts and Johanna the Mad draws.