Lion Forge Animation and Nine PBS, a Missouri affiliate station of the US pubcaster, are joining forces to shine a spotlight on Black voices and literacy with a new IP that’s designed to expand into a 360-degree franchise.

The first Drawn In animated short is already online, with more episodes to come. They will be released in the future on the Nine PBS channel. And the partners are also planning print and digital comics, digital learning games and educational resources for adults. The brand was created to fill a diversity gap in the public media landscape, said Lion Forge CEO David Steward II in a release.

Aimed at kids ages six to eight and their families, Drawn In centers on four Midwestern kids who love comic books. Adventures ensue when heroes, villains and robots escape from their pages, and the kids must catch them using problem-solving and literacy skills.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and Steward Family Foundation have also contributed financially to the development of Drawn In.

Lion Forge Animation, which launched in 2019, produces content that features underrepresented communities. Its projects to date include kids series Hair Love for HBO Max and Rise Up, Sing Out for Disney.