FENCE #3
Writer: C.S. Pacat
Illustrator: Johanna the Mad
Colorist: Joana Lafuente
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Hold on a second. I’m going to go drown a couple of ibuprofens, give them some time to kick in, and then I’ll come back and try to make sense out of what I just read.
It is easy to review a book when I love it or hate it. The reviews just flow naturally. Write themselves. What’s difficult is critiquing something that is simply unremarkable and saturated in endless layers of mediocrity.
And that’s why I’m having trouble here.
This title really had a lot of potential, and I am always the biggest cheerleader for quirky series. But Fence just falls flat.
Let’s start out with the biggest problem on my mind. Bobby was introduced last issue. And it wasn’t until the middle of this issue that I realized Bobby was a male character. I mean, there was just nothing in the story, besides the fact that the name was spelled Bobby and not Bobbie or some variation to even hint at the fact. So, I thought it was weird when Bobby was hanging over the urinal waiting for Nicholas to get done. But, whatever. I’ve seen Boy Meets World; I remember when Cory and Topanga got to college and they had coed bathrooms. But, then Bobby was referred to as HE, the masculine pronoun, and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.
He is drawn as a girl. Size. Shape. Everything. He has a bun AND bangs. What is going on, and why isn’t this explained? I mean, they are at a boarding school with uniforms, and Bobby is always in the girls’ uniform. Skirt and all. And they go over uniform rules. What boarding school with strict uniform policies allow boys to wear skirts?
And, the comic can be fairly dry for those who aren’t fencing diehards (which I imagine is most people). And, hey, I am happy fencing fans get their own series. It’s great, but a monochromatic two-page spread of fencing techniques might not be exciting to most readers.
And the artwork is still hit or miss. I love the manga elements Johanna brings in, but she has the consistency of a minor league pitcher who’s never going to be called up to the big leagues.
And you know what? I actually love the ongoing story of Fence. How Nicholas is (or at least believes to be) the lost, illegitimate scion of a legendary fencer, half brother of the current greatest fencer. That may be enough to keep me invested in the series, but as a whole package, it’s just not that good.
Before it came out, Fence was lauded for being an LGTBQ series—which is great. It left me confused after the first issue when I didn’t see any evidence of that, but it is clearly showing up now. But, people deserve a good LGTBQ comic, not just the only one available. And when it isn’t good, it hurts the cause. It’s like the new Ghostbusters movie. When audiences lambasted the film, we heard cries of sexism and how people weren’t ready for female action hero/comedy stars. But that wasn’t the case. It was just a bad movie. I hope when this comic fails to live up to expectations as far as sales and critics are concerned that people don’t say its because readers aren’t ready for a strong LGBTQ series. That’s not true. I know readers would openly embrace a good, strong LGBTQ comic book. One only has to look at Kevin Keller in Archie to see this is true. Unfortunately, Fence is neither good nor strong.
Illustrator: Johanna the Mad
Colorist: Joana Lafuente
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Hold on a second. I’m going to go drown a couple of ibuprofens, give them some time to kick in, and then I’ll come back and try to make sense out of what I just read.
It is easy to review a book when I love it or hate it. The reviews just flow naturally. Write themselves. What’s difficult is critiquing something that is simply unremarkable and saturated in endless layers of mediocrity.
And that’s why I’m having trouble here.
This title really had a lot of potential, and I am always the biggest cheerleader for quirky series. But Fence just falls flat.
Let’s start out with the biggest problem on my mind. Bobby was introduced last issue. And it wasn’t until the middle of this issue that I realized Bobby was a male character. I mean, there was just nothing in the story, besides the fact that the name was spelled Bobby and not Bobbie or some variation to even hint at the fact. So, I thought it was weird when Bobby was hanging over the urinal waiting for Nicholas to get done. But, whatever. I’ve seen Boy Meets World; I remember when Cory and Topanga got to college and they had coed bathrooms. But, then Bobby was referred to as HE, the masculine pronoun, and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.
He is drawn as a girl. Size. Shape. Everything. He has a bun AND bangs. What is going on, and why isn’t this explained? I mean, they are at a boarding school with uniforms, and Bobby is always in the girls’ uniform. Skirt and all. And they go over uniform rules. What boarding school with strict uniform policies allow boys to wear skirts?
And, the comic can be fairly dry for those who aren’t fencing diehards (which I imagine is most people). And, hey, I am happy fencing fans get their own series. It’s great, but a monochromatic two-page spread of fencing techniques might not be exciting to most readers.
And the artwork is still hit or miss. I love the manga elements Johanna brings in, but she has the consistency of a minor league pitcher who’s never going to be called up to the big leagues.
And you know what? I actually love the ongoing story of Fence. How Nicholas is (or at least believes to be) the lost, illegitimate scion of a legendary fencer, half brother of the current greatest fencer. That may be enough to keep me invested in the series, but as a whole package, it’s just not that good.
Before it came out, Fence was lauded for being an LGTBQ series—which is great. It left me confused after the first issue when I didn’t see any evidence of that, but it is clearly showing up now. But, people deserve a good LGTBQ comic, not just the only one available. And when it isn’t good, it hurts the cause. It’s like the new Ghostbusters movie. When audiences lambasted the film, we heard cries of sexism and how people weren’t ready for female action hero/comedy stars. But that wasn’t the case. It was just a bad movie. I hope when this comic fails to live up to expectations as far as sales and critics are concerned that people don’t say its because readers aren’t ready for a strong LGBTQ series. That’s not true. I know readers would openly embrace a good, strong LGBTQ comic book. One only has to look at Kevin Keller in Archie to see this is true. Unfortunately, Fence is neither good nor strong.
A Look Inside
