A new company on the scene: Beanstack, a reading motivation platform, has acquired digital comics platform Comics Plus, and the two companies are relaunching as The Joyful Reading Company
Comics Plus, a long running platform whose roots go back to the very early days of digital comics, is mostly known for serving libraries and schools by providing unlimited, simultaneous access to comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books. Publishers offered include Image, Dark Horse, Oni, Kodansha and Yen Press.
Beanstack is also used by schools and libraries, promoting reading via gamification.
According to the PR:
By bringing Comics Plus’s massive catalog into the Joyful Reading Company family, the new entity is making it easier than ever for schools and libraries to build a culture where reading is the best part of every day.
“At Beanstack, we’ve always led with love and inclusion. We believe every kid, and every adult, is a reader. They just need the right spark and books they enjoy,” said Felix Lloyd, CEO of Joyful Reading Company. “By combining with Comics Plus, we’re motivating readers while sharing the keys to a library they’ll never want to leave. This is about creating a connected ecosystem designed to help inspire reading, expand access, and demonstrate impact.”
The Comics Plus “all you can eat” subscription model makes it a popular alternative to other digital lending platforms such as Overdrive that have a “single volume” model. An interview with Lloyd at PW explains how the new combined entity will be able to find more ways to encourage kids to read.
The idea for the new brand grew from recent trends observed by Joyful Reading Company CEO and Beanstack co-founder Felix Lloyd and his team. “A couple years ago, we started seeing how our message around independent reading resonated—especially with the emergence of a generation that has grown up with screens—and we saw schools drawing more of a clear connection between reading outcomes and reading for fun,” Lloyd said. “We’ve always believed that Beanstack, our core product, is the leading motivation solution, but we lack for content,” he added. He also noted that, with the popularity of comics and graphic novels still growing among readers of all ages, and particularly among K–12 students, readers are seeking out those materials. “Comics Plus allowed us to build out both that expertise in having a very engaging type of content, but also the thesis that we can be a leader in joyful reading beyond motivation alone,” he said.
According to PW the combined entity will reach more than 3,600 library systems, 9,000 school buildings (550 school districts), and 18 million readers.
In a post on LInkedIn, Moni Barrette, a librarian who has often been the public face for Comics Plus to the comics industry, noted that she will be staying on at the new company as Collection Development Team Lead for Joyful Reading Co.
