Fence Books in Order

Fence is a sports graphic novel series set at Kings Row, an elite all-boys boarding school where fencing matters almost as much as status. The story follows Nicholas Cox, a talented but rough-edged scholarship student who has spent years training without the polish, money, or connections that most of his new classmates take for granted. What Nicholas wants is simple to say and hard to get: a place on the team, a chance to prove himself, and some kind of answer about the famous father he never really had.

Kings Row does not hand out easy victories.

The series gets its spark from Nicholas's rivalry with Seiji Katayama, the quiet prodigy who seems to be better than everyone at everything, and least interested in explaining himself. They are roommates, competitors, and eventually something much messier than either of them planned. Their matches are exciting, but the real hook is what happens off the strip: the small humiliations, the grudges, the respect that arrives late, and the slow shift from seeing each other as obstacles to seeing each other clearly.

Because the books are set inside a team, Fence never feels like a two-person story only. Tryouts, practice sessions, school rules, and rival schools keep widening the circle. Friends and teammates bring humor, jealousy, crushes, and different ideas about what winning should cost. The boarding-school setting also gives Pacat room to bring in class tension. Nicholas is always aware that he is the outsider in a world built for boys who have trained longer, paid more, and expect to belong.

It is fencing, but it is also a story about belonging.

The tone is fast, emotional, and very readable. Pacat and Johanna the Mad lean into the rhythm of sports manga, with intense face-offs, sharp cliffhangers, and character beats that land in a glance or a single line. At the same time, the series keeps the stakes human. A bad bout can change a season. One mistake can cost a team place. A rivalry can turn into pressure, friendship, or romance before anyone is ready for it.

As the volumes go on, the world gets a little bigger. Kings Row has to face schools with history, including the team that knocked them out before, and later the pressure of the Halverton training camp. That means the series keeps balancing two kinds of tension at once: who will win, and who these boys will become when competition stops being a game. If you want queer sports drama with expressive art, strong momentum, and characters who reveal themselves one duel at a time, Fence is very easy to fall into.