Wonderbound Week continues with another exclusive look at an upcoming graphic novel from Vault Comics’ young reader imprint Wonderbound. Verse, Book One: The Broken Half is the first installment in the fantasy epic. Written and drawn by Sam Beck, the synopsis is below:

Everyone knows magic doesn’t exist anymore until magic changes everything.

Fife’s plans to become an expert swordsmith are interrupted when he meets Neitya, an extraordinary girl unlike any he’s ever met before…primarily because of her horns and amnesia. Worryingly, she seems akin to the monstrous Vel who roam the countryside. but when Fife is attacked by the Vel, Neitya saves him by using a skill thought to be forever lost to everyone: Magic. Fife and Neitya decide to journey together, seeking the guidance they need to unravel the mystery of her origin. Book 1 of the three volume series of original graphic novels!

Beck said in a statement:

“The story of a shared journey is one that feels timeless. It isn’t the promise of adventure or the fantastical things you unearth that draw us back to them. It’s getting to see how each character grows and develops along it, testing the bonds they form over and over again. And even when paths diverge, as they often do, seeing how they manage to find a way back to each other.

I tenaciously sought these stories as a kid; in video games, in books, and in comics—my only wish, to immerse myself in that shared journey. Nothing is more delightful than being presented with a cast of colourful characters and slowly getting to learn what drives them to make each decision. To turn them over in your head and wonder what path led them there.

Verse is the story I wanted to read as a shy, bookish, thirteen-year-old. To be shown a wonderful and terrifying world and still get to see the moments of tenderness between characters amidst all of it.”

Verse, Book One: The Broken Half goes on sale on September 28. The Beat received an exclusive look at a few pages and the cover. Check them out here!