Fence Moves to Book Releases

How many series announcements does it take to make a trend? As Moonstruck did, Fence will conclude with issue #12 and become a series of graphic novels.

Although maybe, in this case, it’s less of a format transfer and more of a continuation. From the press release:

Debuting in 2017, Fence was originally announced as a limited series but an immediate first issue sell out earned it a full series order of twelve issues. Fence brings together the worlds of teen soap opera with the adrenaline rush of competitive fencing for an exciting journey of self-discovery that has won over legions of fans worldwide. Nicholas, the secret son of a retired fencing champion, is a scrappy fencing wunderkind, and dreams of getting the chance and the training to actually compete. After getting accepted to the prodigious Kings Row private school, Nicholas is thrust into a cut-throat world, and finds himself facing not only his golden-boy half-brother, but the unbeatable, mysterious Seiji Katayama. Through clashes, rivalries, and romance between teammates, Nicholas and the boys of Kings Row will discover there’s much more to fencing than just foils and lunges.

“I’m so thrilled that Fence will be continuing as a series of graphic novels!,” said [writer] C.S. Pacat. “Fence was originally planned to run for 12 issues — but thanks to the amazing support of fans who have shown the series so much love, it can now go to a whole new level. I can’t wait to take these characters all the way to nationals, to reveal some huge surprises that we’ve got stored up — and of course for the team romances to blossom!”

Fence volume 1, collecting the first four issues, came out earlier this year. Volume 2 will be out in January with Volume 3 following in April 2019. Assuming that each contains four issues, that means Volume 4 will be the first of all-new material, and there’s no word yet on that release date. (Count the swords on each cover, though!)

I think this is a good choice for the series. With the continuing competition plotline and a large cast of characters, reading more of the story in one place makes it easier for the reader to really sink into the battles and alliances. Also, given the series’ obvious manga influences, it’s likely much of the target audience is more used to reading in that format.

Fence #12, concluding the series run as issues, will be available on November 28.

Issue #12 cover by HamletMachine