Comic Crush Saturday: Fence by C.S. Pacat, with art by Johanna the Mad

Fence has been in the world since 2017. It has sold over a million copies. It has built one of the most devoted fandoms in comics. And now, nearly a decade after Nicholas Cox first showed up at Kings Row, Fence Book One collects the series in a gorgeous new edition with sprayed edges and makes it available on Webtoon for the first time.

If you have never read Fence, here is what you need to know: Nicholas is scrappy and out of his depth. Seiji is an untouchable prodigy. They are going to fence each other, be rivals, be something more than rivals, and you are going to feel (and love) every second of it. C.S. Pacat brings the same moral complexity and slow-burn emotional tension to a high school fencing team that she brings to epic court intrigue. Johanna The Mad’s art makes it all feel urgent and alive. We talked to both of them about the book, the sport, and what they hope new readers find.

Fence Book One

by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad
Published by: BOOM! Box
on September 1, 2026
Bookshop
Goodreads

Queer sports drama meets elite private school stakes in this critically acclaimed series!

Scrappy fencer Nicholas Cox has big dreams of following in the footsteps of the father he’s never known, but when he’s accepted into the elite King’s Row private school, he’s thrust into a world of cutthroat competition. Facing down privileged rivals, grueling tryouts, and the seemingly unbeatable Seiji Katayama, Nicholas discovers that it will take more than determination to prove himself worthy of a place on the team.

Experience the first three volumes of the breakout hit series written by bestselling author C.S. Pacat and brought to life by fan-favorite artist Johanna the Mad!

Collects Fence #1-12.

Interview with C.S. Pacat

Fence has been out in the world since 2017 and has sold over a million copies. Now it is getting the collected graphic novel treatment with sprayed edges and a new Webtoon debut. What does it feel like to watch a story you wrote nearly a decade ago find new readers who are coming to it completely fresh?

It’s a testament to the passionate fans. To have a series that is still going just as strong ten years after publication is special in any writer’s career. I feel beyond grateful.

You have written epic fantasy and morally complex court intrigue, but Fence lives in a completely different kind of world, ours, with sports anime energy, found family, and slow burn romance in a very contained setting. What does the structure of fencing give you as a storytelling structure that those other worlds could not?

Where epic fantasy offers a vast scope for storytelling, Fence locks in on one character in their most intense make-or-break moment. It’s very pure in that sense. Fencing is an individual combat sport: you are facing one opponent and everything is on the line, so you get these explosive one-on-one interactions, highly personal, highly competitive. It’s not quite like anything else.

Nicholas is scrappy and out of his depth at Kings Row. Seiji is the untouchable prodigy. That rival dynamic is everywhere in sports stories, but there is an emotional engine underneath it in Fence. What were you actually writing about when you wrote those two in a room or match together?

A lot of sports narratives from Rocky to Center Stage show the scrappy natural rookie triumphing over the untouchable prodigy. To me, they need and balance each other just as much as they will clash as rivals. They are two halves of a whole: raw talent, and the honing of that talent; hot passion and the ability to put emotion to one side and make tactical decisions. It’s heart versus head; each can learn to open up to the power of the other.

Interview with Johanna The Mad

Your art has been the visual identity of Fence since the beginning and now a whole new set of readers are discovering it through the Webtoon and this collected edition. When you see someone encountering Nicholas and Seiji for the first time through your drawings, what do you hope lands for them that might not have landed for readers who followed the single issues in real time?

I’m excited that Fence is now more accessible on mobile devices! I think this new format offers great versatility, for those who want to read it on their phones during their bus ride or for those who prefer to zoom in closely to see the details of each panel.

Fencing is fast, precise, and perhaps not fully understood by someone who does not know the sport. How do you make the competition feel urgent and readable on a comics page without slowing it down and losing the energy?

Speed is essential in fencing; however, for me, the most important thing is that our readers feel the tensions, good or bad, that Nick and his friends are going through, regardless of whether they are familiar with the sport or not. I believe emotions are a great way to translate fencing into comic book panels.

You built your audience on social media before coming over to traditional publishing. How has that shaped what you pay attention to when you are drawing, and does knowing your audience directly change anything about the choices you make on the page?

Yes! My creation process has become more precise since I started working on Fence. I started putting more care into my line art, and playing with lights and shadows became a must to give a dramatic turn to the piece. And it actually does change things. Whenever I become aware of what interactions and situations our audience are most excited for, I can’t help but put that little extra detail into the panels to make them all the more memorable, like a side glance or maybe a few strands of hair out of place.

C.S. Pacat is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Dark Rise, the Captive Prince trilogy, and the GLAAD-nominated graphic novels Fence, and has also written for DC Comics. Johanna The Mad is a comic book artist and illustrator from Mexico. Find her at linktr.ee/johannathemad.