Later this month Top Shelf will release Junkwraith, the latest addition to the IDW imprint’s stable of young adult original graphic novels. The book is the graphic novel debut of Swedish cartoonist Ellinor Richey, and tells the story of Florence, a young ice-skating prodigy who becomes literally haunted by her gift after she attempts to abandon the sport and throws her skates away. Today The Beat is proud to present an exclusive excerpt from Junkwraith, which finds Florence struggling under the weight of the expectations put upon her.

Here’s how Top Shelf describes Junkwraith:

What happens when our most precious belongings… no longer belong? When something we loved suddenly becomes junk, a powerful energy is unleashed. One night, ice-skating prodigy Florence Sato is overwhelmed by pressure and throws away her skates. This fateful moment accidentally summons a “junkwraith,” a terrifying ghost which seeks revenge for its abandonment by attacking the memories of its former owner. Before she forgets who she is, and to find out who she really wants to be, Florence must set off (with her trusty digital assistant Frank) on a long journey into the Wastelands to put to rest the monster she created.

Richey originally debuted Junkwraith as a webcomic, which she serialized on Tumblr from 2018 through 2019. The artist posted 27 pages of the comic there, with many of the images utilizing limited animation to bring them more fully to life. While the printed graphic novel will not include the animated effects, Richey’s artwork still has plenty of life in it, with kinetic and expressive figures and strong storytelling on display even in the short excerpt presented here.

Check out the exclusive nine-page excerpt from Junkwraith below. The 288-page graphic novel arrives in bookstores on Tuesday, January 18th, and in comic shops the following Wednesday, January 19th.