Not giving up.
Creative Staff:
Story: C.S. Pacat
Art: Johanna the Mad
Colors: Joana Lafuente
Letterer: Jim Campbell
What They Say:
Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is an outsider to the competitive fencing world. Filled with raw talent but lacking proper training, he signs up for a competition that puts him head-to-head with fencing prodigy Seiji Katayama…and on the road to the elite all-boys school Kings Row. A chance at a real team and a place to belong awaits him—if he can make the cut!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Nicholas Cox is a newbie fencer and enters a local competition to get his feet wet, but with the purpose of winning. Unfortunately, his first competitor, Seiji Katayama is incredibly skilled. So, despite Nicholas’ focused attempts to win, he tastes a bitter defeat. No one believes he will someday beat Seiji, not even Seiji himself. Nicholas goes home and grieves over his loss, but it doesn’t mean he’s done with fencing. Instead, he’s ready to try harder. He enrolls at Kings Row Boys School on a scholarship and with the goal of being on the school’s fencing team. When he meets his new roommate, it’s none other than his rival, Seiji.
In Summary:
I’m a big fan of C.S. Pacat and her Captive Prince series, so when I heard she was collaborating to make a comic, I just had give it a try. Fencing, from what I can tell, is a new theme in English comics. Though I don’t know a lot about fencing, the comic does a really good job introducing both the sport and the characters. It had just the right amount of action balanced with dialogue and a twist at the end. Also, because I know that both C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad are anime/manga fans, it was fun to see the influence of sports manga gleam through. I really enjoyed this comic and I really look forward to future issues!
Grade: A
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Boom! Studios
Release Date: November 2017
MSRP: #3.99
