BOOM! Studios; $3.99

The team tryouts continue for the boys of King’s Row, and there’s a killer matchup - Seiji versus the captain himself, Harvard. Both are nationally ranked, with Seiji at No. 2 and Harvard at No. 33. So for the other student, this is one heck of a marquee match, and perhaps the closest any of them will get to seeing a Nationals-level faceoff. But though both are nationally ranked, it’s clear that there’s a key difference in their abilities.

Fence has done a really good job at telling an interesting high school drama story that revolves around fencing (and it’s also done a great job at explaining all of these different fencing terms to those of us who didn’t know anything about the sport going into it). As a big fan of sports anime myself, it’s very easy for me to see the inspiration that this series has taken from the likes of Haikyuu and Yowamushi Pedal, but within the past couple of issues it’s started to really take a step in its own unique direction rather than simply echoing the already-established series. I think there’s a lot of potential for this series to be great, and it should prove to be an exciting book to keep paying attention to.

-Carrie Wood