Meet Ashley Flowers, a queer comic-turned-podcast, and five graphic novels about audio









AC June 2 Issue


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Written and curated by Shreya Sharma

Happy Pride! In today’s issue, we’ve got an interview with Ashley Flowers, a new (and queer) audiobook, a creator spotlight on an artist in podcasting, comic books based on audio, and what’s making waves in the audio world. 

Dive into:  

  • Creator Spotlight: Erik Jones, a visual artist in podcasting.
  • Meet Ashley Flowers: we hear from the True Crime podcaster and NYT bestselling author. 
  • Dykes to Watch Out For: Alison Bechdel’s queer comic-turned-podcast on Audible.
  • Audio in Comics: in the vein of visual art and audio, we’re sharing five graphic novels and webcomics with audio as a main theme.
  • Making Waves: phase two of Equality in Audio Pact, a new tool to manage audio assets, Gen Z’s podcast listening habits, TikTok celebrates Pride, and a podcast festival for producers.

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🎨 Sonic Spotlight

Every week, we’ll shine the spotlight on an audio creator our readers should hear from. This week’s spotlight is on: Erik Jones, an artist who creates visuals based on podcasting. 

  • Themes: Erik makes simple yet relatable visuals, ranging from busting myths on how much work it takes to create audio to physical representations of audio libraries. 

  • Say hi: Head over to Erik’s Instagram to see his work and drop him a hello. 

  • Also: In addition to creating visuals, Erik writes Hurt Your Brain: a newsletter that curates audio playlists with the sole purpose of making the readers think. 

  • My favorite: I wasn’t going to not mention which ones of Erik’s works I love the most. It’s this most romantic declaration of love:

🦄 Meet Ashley Flowers and a New Queer Audiobook

1

Ashley Flowers, the creator of the award-winning True Crime podcast Crime Junkie, was recently a keynote speaker at  The Podcast Show in London. She was also the recipient of their inaugural International Podcast Trailblazer Award. In addition to being an audio creator, Ashley is the CEO and Founder of audiochuck, an independent media production company. 

 

We hear from Ashley on why True Crime is such a resilient genre, how the genre contributes to audio storytelling, and what she's listening to.

 

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. 
Ashley Flowers is the CEO of audiochuck and creator of award-winning True Crime podcastCrime Junkie

 

Shreya Sharma (SS):  You’ve made so many shows but, I must know: which was your favorite and why?

Ashley Flowers (AF): I truly love all the shows we’ve had the opportunity to create. However, Crime Junkie has always had a special space in my heart. It was my first show and what put audiochuck on the map. In so many ways, it is my baby. It also has created a truly international community, which has been incredible to see and experience.  Just last week, I was in London meeting with members of our Crime Junkie Fan Club. I love seeing the impact Crime Junkie has had on many people. 

SS: How does True Crime, as a genre, stay resilient in audio storytelling?

AF: Here at audiochuck, we stay resilient by continuing to point back to advocacy. We strive to always offer our listeners the right next step after they finish an episode. Whether it is increasing awareness about an issue, donating to a nonprofit, or signing a petition for a case, our listeners really appreciate the opportunity to give back and make a difference.

SS: How can and do True Crime podcasts contribute to audio storytelling as a whole?

AF: In so many ways, I think True Crime podcasts were really what put audio storytelling in the public eye. It comes down to podcasts like Serial kicking everything off. Many times, True Crime seems to be the driver of innovation in the podcasting space.  

SS: What’s in store for audiochuck? What are you most excited about?

AF: We’re really focused on showing people that we’re a media company and not just a podcast company.  So, I’m excited about seeing some of our other creative endeavors as they kick off, like some pending TV projects. Our listeners will always have my heart and my focus; their excitement about the content we develop will always be my driving force.

SS: What is some audio, non-podcasts, like audiobooks or music that you’re loving these days?

AF: I’ve actually been listening to audiobooks long before I began podcasting – I think I started in 2007. I’ve always been drawn to audio. I just finished listening to I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai and loved it.

2

Dykes to Watch Out For is an episodic podcast from Audible; the show is adapted from Alison Bechdel’s comic strip of the same name. 

The episodic podcast was scripted by Madeleine George and directed by Leigh Silverman. 

  • The award-winning comic strip, ran from 1938 to 2008. It focused on lesbians in popular culture and is now recognized as "important to new generations of lesbians." 

  • The podcast features a queer cast including Jane Lynch, Carrie Brownstein, Roxane Gay, Roberta Colindrez, and Jenn Colella. 

  • All episodes are out and available to Audible members. 

💪 Audio in Comics

At the intersection of visual art and audio, live some beautiful graphic novels and comics. Here’s five we love: 

  • The Wicked and The Divine is a graphic novel series from Keiron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. The story follows twelve gods who have been reincarnated as pop stars in the modern world. The duo also created the graphic novel Phonogram, the first volume of which is called Rue Brittanica and features a mage who’s magic presents as Britpop music.

  • LOUD! is a graphic novel from Spanish artist Maria Llovet. The award-winning story is that of a night gone wrong at one of the town’s hottest club. The characters range from a stripper to a clan of vampires. A standout characteristic of this book is that readers can almost feel the music thumping even as they read the story. 

  • Let’s Play is a web comic from creator Leanne M. Krecic or Mongie. The romance series tells the tale of a young videogame creator who’s life takes a turn when a popular streamer gives her first game an unflattering review. 

  • The Tune comics are created by Korean-American author Derek Kirk Kim. The sci-fi comedy follows Andy in a story that is adjacent to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. With elements of music and audio weaved in with coming-of-age, this makes for a unique read.

  • Rock and Riot is a comic series from Chelsey Furedi. The vintage series centers on a teenage rivalry between two gangs, with dance and music playing a special role in the story.

If you, like me, haven’t had enough of the intersection of the worlds of audio and visual art, the ToonStack newsletter is for you. This particular issue, lovingly called TuneStack, features a series of standalone comic strips on music.

🌊 Making Waves

  • Audio: The UK Audio Network and Content is Queen announced the launch of Phase 2 of the Equality in Audio Pact. The timing of the rollout of this phase is crucial, as highlighted by the findings of the 2023 UKAN Survey: the pay disparity between genders is on the rise. 

  • Audio: Sonic Hub is a new AI tool for amp sound branding to help manage audio assets. 

  • Producers: The Resonate Podcast Festival for podcast producers is happening on November 3-4 in Richmond, Virginia.

  • Data: SXM Media and Edison Research published The Gen Z Podcast Listener Report: listenership in this demographic has increased 57% in the last five years. We’ll be covering this in detail on Tuesday’s issue.

  • Content: To celebrate Pride Month, TikTok announced the Pride Visionary Voices List—a list highlighting independent creators that have had an impact on the LGBTQ+ community.

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