Arianna Irwin Interview - Penelope's Escape from the Platypusary

[00:00:00] - [Speaker 0]
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[00:00:55] - [Speaker 2]
Hello, and welcome to Comic Book Yeti's Cryptid Creator Corner Podcast. I'm one of your hosts, Jimmy Gasparro. And tonight's guest, it's, her first time on the podcast, and she has a new book coming out through Maverick, Penelope's Escape from the Platypusery. It is out 07/21/2026. Fantastic artwork by Prenzy, an Italian artist, and I am very excited to talk to her.

[00:01:17] - [Speaker 2]
Please, welcome to the podcast, Ariana Irwin. How are doing tonight? Good. How are you? I'm I'm doing pretty good.

[00:01:26] - [Speaker 2]
And they sent me an advanced copy, digitally, so I I got to read Penelope's escape from the platypusery. I thought it was fantastic. I was surprised because I you know, I you see as, you know, it's like a a young adult in terms of what Maverick publishes, then you see the artwork on it, and I was not expecting a story that is as as deep and as as meaningful. I mean, the the the depth of it really surprised me. I was not familiar with this story before.

[00:01:58] - [Speaker 2]
I didn't know it was you know, that there was a platypus that had escaped from, you know, the zoo. I just thought it was I thought it was incredible.

[00:02:07] - [Speaker 3]
Thank you.

[00:02:08] - [Speaker 2]
How did you first come across this story, and what made you kind of want to take the bones of what happened here and adapt it into this?

[00:02:18] - [Speaker 3]
I feel like it's a really lame story, but I was doom scrolling Instagram. I came across a meme about Penelope the Platypus and how she faked a pregnancy and then escaped Bronx Zoo and made New York Times headlines. And I was like, is this real? Like, is this a real story? And it is, and I was able to find all these New York Times headlines and articles about her, and like people loved her story.

[00:02:47] - [Speaker 3]
Back then, it's pretty captivating, and I was just like, how how does a pit like a platypus escape a zoo, especially like an Australian animal in like the winter of New York. So, yeah. I, just yeah. I wanted to explore her story a little bit more, kinda give her an adventurous tale. Yeah.

[00:03:10] - [Speaker 2]
I mean, I I was just the the surprised so much by the other characters you have in this. And also with Penelope's story in particular, I mean, it is this this could have been a nice, fun, you know, adventure. But, like, I mean, from the very beginning, she's taken to the zoo with her friend, Betty, and it is it's traumatic, like, right from the jump. And Prenzy's art is so good. I mean, you really feel what these characters are are feeling, you know, in the moment even though we're talking about, you know, zoo animals.

[00:03:46] - [Speaker 2]
But the amount of empathy that is evoked both in your writing and in Prenzy's art for the character of of Penelope and Betty in particular. Also, Cuddlepot as well, who is one of my favorites, who was a a koala at the zoo. It just is absolutely incredible. I was just floored by it.

[00:04:08] - [Speaker 3]
Oh, thank you. That's awesome. No. Yeah. Prenzy's art is like amazing.

[00:04:14] - [Speaker 3]
The amount of personality he can give these zoo animals is just crazy. You really I mean, I feel like Penelope's story already to begin with, you're like very empathetic towards her. Like, she's a very empathetic animal historical figure, if you will. Like, her story is kind of tragic. But I think with our story, we kinda give her like, again, like that hero's journey, and kinda make her into the feminist icon that I truly believed she was.

[00:04:45] - [Speaker 3]
Because yeah, like, all of those story beats in the timeline that the book kinda follows is her actual story timeline. So she did come over from, you know, Australia with Betty. She was put with Cecile multiple times, you know, she faked the pregnancy, she was in the zoo for over a decade, and she fought and, you know, clawed her way to a better existence and a better future. So it yeah. It's a crazy story.

[00:05:19] - [Speaker 2]
It really is. But for anyone listening and you're like, wait a minute. This is a story about a a platypus that escapes a zoo, and, like, Ariana just called her, like, called her a feminist icon. For anyone that doesn't know this story, like, you have no idea in terms of the response to this. In the nineteen fifties when this happened and they said that she faked a pregnancy, because if anyone doesn't know, platypuses out outside of Australia in zoos do not do well.

[00:05:48] - [Speaker 2]
They do have a tendency to to to to not live long. There have not been many in The United States because of of this reason. But if you look back at some of the historical articles from this story when this happened, like, they referred to the platypus, like Penelope, as a brazen hussy. Like, that was a direct quote from a 1957 article. That's insane.

[00:06:15] - [Speaker 2]
Like

[00:06:16] - [Speaker 3]
Like, actually. Yeah.

[00:06:18] - [Speaker 2]
Like like, that they would put that title on, you know, an animal that certainly had personality, certainly appeared to have been, you know, making a nest but didn't lay any eggs and and you know? But to refer to her as a brazen like, this platypus as a brazen hussy, like, giving this animal this, like, intentionality and, I mean, from such a patriarchal view. I I I read that when I was looking up the history of the story preparing for this interview. I was like, okay. That's like top to bottom bonkers that that actually happened.

[00:07:00] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. Like, a quote a a quote, unquote journalist wrote that in an article.

[00:07:05] - [Speaker 3]
Right. Yeah. And especially for the time too. Like, you're talking about the nineteen fifties. Like, it's just wild to use that kind of language for like, a female platypus.

[00:07:16] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. Ridiculous. And which is why I feel confident, know, calling her a feminist icon because she really did reject the path that, you know, was laid out for her and she was like, no. I'm gonna make my own. Gonna make my own future and yeah.

[00:07:32] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. I mean, I think it was very smart. You you really kept to the timeline and, you know, hinted at some of the actual articles for folks that were following along with her story, like, realistically. But you really infuse this story with this very interesting cast of characters that are at the zoo, you know, a koala, which I mentioned earlier, Cuddlepod, the the gorillas, the squirrels, and really, I mean, created your, you know, your your own society, your your own world building at this zoo to talk about a lot of, like, actual issues in terms of not just being a feminist icon, but you can look at it through a lens of, like, animals, like, in captivity, fighting against the, you know, oppression and anybody wanting to put a certain type of person in a in a box, and this is what you have to do, and you have to do these things and kinda like, you have all of these thematic elements in it in this world you created that really the story lends itself to doing all those things. And, I just thought that aspect of it was, incredible.

[00:08:48] - [Speaker 2]
Did you set out when you set out to tell this story that there were certain themes that you wanted to hit, or did you discover discover some of these things along the way that you put in this?

[00:08:58] - [Speaker 3]
I think, like, obviously, I wanted to highlight Penelope as like the heroine of the story, and make her a true a true girl's girl, actually. Like, she you know, she's she's got flaws. She's, you know, she she's in in captivity for over a decade. And you can't imagine, or I can't imagine what that would do to to a human. So like, you you know, you imagine what that would do to her like psyche and stuff.

[00:09:28] - [Speaker 3]
And so she, you know, towards the end of the book, she she kinda goes a a little crazy, and, she's, you know, she becomes a little desperate. And so that her whole arc is pretty was pretty fun to write, and like, it ended up touching on these themes that I was like, yeah, that is some how someone might feel, or like, know, that is where someone might go. But then you have all these other characters, know, Cuddlepot, he's based on the two first koalas who were ever brought over to The US, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, I think were their names. And you know, they're taken from their homes, and they're brought over to The US, and yeah, these animals, it's like, how do you kind of expect them to survive, you know, in a way, and like, flourish, I guess. And then you have the gorillas, which were based on some gorillas that I believe were at the Saint Louis zoo in like the fifties, and like, they one of them like, he literally died because he went on a hunger strike for like, a certain amount of time.

[00:10:33] - [Speaker 3]
Like, it's just crazy. And like, but at the same time, it is a You book, and it's an adventure tale, and it's crazy, and it's weird, and like, you wanna touch on all these like bigger themes, and these darker aspects, but at the same time, like, the absurdity of the society, the wildness of the world, like, kinda brings it back to like, a lighter level. Makes it a little bit more fun, and like, you know, keeps you turning the page, hopefully.

[00:11:00] - [Speaker 2]
But Yeah. No. I mean, I think this is a book where somebody picking it up, regardless of age. I mean, Maverick does a lot of You stuff or or mainly You stuff, but I think anyone at any age could pick this book up, and I it's the type of story, the type of graphic novel in particular that I think, you're somebody's gonna walk away with something after reading it, like, even if they tried not to because it is such, like, an action packed adventure tale. But I think it's one that's gonna make folks continue to think about it, but it works on several different levels.

[00:11:40] - [Speaker 2]
And, I mean, you mentioned when we're talking about Prenzy in terms of his artwork and how emotive it is, but, yeah, there are some panels where he does, like, an ex like, a really great close-up, especially of Penelope of her eyes and face, like, just, like, a little bit of it, like, in a if there's a four or five panel page. And it is so expressive and so emotive. It is that aspect of it is remarkable. But I feel like this is a book that folks you could read and be like, oh, that was really great. There's all this stuff going on and animals attacking each other and doing all these things.

[00:12:16] - [Speaker 2]
What a what a wild time. And I think if you think about it for more than, like, two seconds and get beyond that initial level of how fun the story is and start to think about it even a little bit more. I think all all of these things that we've been talking about in terms of some of the the broader themes of this book come to light very easily.

[00:12:40] - [Speaker 4]
Yeah. I thought it was so I thought

[00:12:42] - [Speaker 2]
it was so good.

[00:12:43] - [Speaker 3]
Oh, thank you. I hope so. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Penelope's story by itself, like, made me wanna know more.

[00:12:51] - [Speaker 3]
It made me wanna, like, keep thinking about her and just like, why her story like, captivated so many people at this time, what was so or I guess, what was making people call her like a hussy, you know? This is Yeah.

[00:13:07] - [Speaker 2]
Not this.

[00:13:08] - [Speaker 3]
So like, I think, yeah. I mean, I hope like, people really get to know her, and like, through Prenzy's art, you really do feel such a connection with her and stuff. She's like a real person, she's right there, and she's vulnerable. She's like she's putting it all out there. So, yeah, I hope people fall in love with her like I did.

[00:13:30] - [Speaker 2]
I I definitely think they will. And also, if you're if you're like me and we're not familiar with this story at all, I I would encourage anybody, especially after reading the the graphic novel, to go and investigate, like, this actual story. And and you don't have to go and, like, dig deep, like I'm sure Ariana did to find the actual newspaper articles. Even if you go to Wikipedia, like, and just do a cursory glance of some of the details of of Cecil and and Penelope and and Betty at the zoo. They talk about some of the things that, like, the platypuses did.

[00:14:09] - [Speaker 2]
Well, my favorite, Cecil quiet in quotes, quietly went about dying until his tank color was changed.

[00:14:19] - [Speaker 3]
It's horrible.

[00:14:20] - [Speaker 2]
Horrible. I know. But in in Cecil's heart pumped dangerously until a zookeeper's uniform was changed from white to a dull green. I mean, it also makes you not, like, not, like, wanna go to a zoo. I'm like, wow.

[00:14:36] - [Speaker 2]
What are we doing? Like, Hooper, we just what are we doing for our amusement? These poor these poor animals.

[00:14:43] - [Speaker 3]
It makes you question it a little bit.

[00:14:46] - [Speaker 2]
I I think yeah. I definitely makes it you question, like, the, you know, the, the the ethics of it. I mean, I I I think there is some I mean, I like the zoo. In February, I went to the San Diego Zoo. It was my first time there, and it was, you know, incredible.

[00:15:03] - [Speaker 2]
And the San Diego Zoo, I think, also does a lot to do with conservation. I think on that level, it's great. But, yeah, it really does really does make you question it.

[00:15:11] - [Speaker 3]
They do have they are the only zoo in The US, I think, right now that has a platypus, actually. So yeah. The San Diego zoo.

[00:15:19] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. I I was I I saw that. I was trying to remember if I if we saw the platypuses when we were there, and I I I think we may have. So what was it working with, you know, with Prenzy in terms of because I know Prenzy's an Italian artist. Did the two of you have a lot of, time together to, collaborate?

[00:15:40] - [Speaker 2]
Was it, you know, you turning in the script and then you getting pages of art? Like, how did that kinda work?

[00:15:45] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. So basically, I actually never really talked to Prenzy directly. I would turn in my script pages to my editor at Maverick, and then she would kind of facilitate that relationship. And he would come back with this art, like, you know, some of the basics, and then I would give notes, and then he'd like do another version, and like, kinda just go from there. But, yeah, like, literally when Maverick was like, here's kinda some of the artists that we think might fit like this story, his art like immediately drew my attention because I was just like, he was able to give these like, humanoid animal figures was like wild to me.

[00:16:29] - [Speaker 3]
Just like with their eyes, and with their mouth, and like, just the amount of emotion that he was able to portray, and that was really important for this book, because like you said, like, it's pretty emotive, like, again, Penelope is really vulnerable, like she's you I want the readers to like, feel what she's feeling, and like, relate to her. And so that was like super important to have art that mirrored that, and yeah. He absolutely killed it. And then Niccolo, who did was the colorist, and he brought out these crazy vibrant colors that really do scream adventure tale. And like, I think kind of that balance between like the art and the color is, yeah, it just makes like, it's such a vivid and like, I don't know.

[00:17:20] - [Speaker 3]
Just like, it really draws you in. Super compelling story that they were able to make. Yeah.

[00:17:27] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. I I I agree. It was edited by Lauren Mhmm. Hitshuisen, if I'm saying Lauren's last name right, I don't I don't know if I ever heard her or how to say it. But but Lauren, listeners probably know who I mean because I've I've interviewed other people who Lauren has edited the their books.

[00:17:47] - [Speaker 2]
And, yeah, fantastic editor.

[00:17:49] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. She's great. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:17:53] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. Was there any

[00:17:54] - [Speaker 3]
facilitated Go ahead. Oh, she facilitated all those moving parts. So, yeah, props to her for sure.

[00:18:02] - [Speaker 2]
Was there any part in particular in the writing of it that was particularly difficult for you to, you know, crack in terms of, like, how you wanted it laid out and how you you know, in the scripting of it?

[00:18:15] - [Speaker 3]
I think any of the scenes with Penelope and Cecil are just tough to write. As a woman, as a person, like, those ones, they're they're gritty and, you know, Cecil is our villain. He's creepy, and he's scummy, and like, you know, you don't wanna spend a lot of time with him on the page. So I think any of those scenes were probably the most challenging to write. We did bring in some sensitivity readers too for those scenes, which I think was extremely helpful and, super beneficial for the book.

[00:18:51] - [Speaker 2]
I think that was another surprise for me, like how dark those scenes were. And I I would have to imagine, I mean, that they were incredibly, you know, difficult to to write and to, to put on the page. They were I mean, I'm as a 47 year old man, they were tough to read. I can't imagine what that is like, having to script those seeds because they they're they were they were tense.

[00:19:23] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. Yeah. They're gritty for sure. Yeah. So I think, yeah.

[00:19:29] - [Speaker 3]
They definitely posed the greatest challenge. And then like, to kinda balance it, you have like, I had so much fun with like, all the Squirrel Kingdom stuff. Like, it was so much fun. Like, cap Catcher the squirrel king, his whole ancestry. Like, I think there was one like scene where I was like, can you make it look like a young Boromir?

[00:19:50] - [Speaker 3]
Like, but a squirrel version? Hey. So super fun. Yeah.

[00:19:56] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. Yeah. Who was it? I I yeah. King Catcher or, I liked, but, captain Twitch.

[00:20:04] - [Speaker 2]
Was it captain Twitch, I think? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I liked especially when he you know, there's a there's a part about tunnels and especially when captain Twitch had to go back to I think it was captain Twitch had to go back to Cuddlepot and Penelope. It's stuff that happens towards the end of the book, but I really I I really enjoyed captain captain Twitch.

[00:20:28] - [Speaker 2]
The squirrel stuff was the squirrel stuff was great. Yeah. Really liked all that.

[00:20:33] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. That's the yeah. That was fun. I mean, it's so ridiculous. Right?

[00:20:37] - [Speaker 3]
But it's so much fun. And like offers a little bit of that levity kinda to balance out some of those darker moments. But yeah.

[00:20:47] - [Speaker 2]
Well, Yeah. I I yeah. And, I mean, it's a you know, based on a true story, like, Penelope did escape, and, you know, you've kind of filled in the gaps in a very fun and imaginative way for, you know, for her story. And, yeah, I it's it really works. It works really well.

[00:21:08] - [Speaker 2]
You do find a good balance between the darker moments of the book because there's a lot of, you know, heartbreak and kinda tragedy for a Penelope story, for Cuddlepott's story. And you you do find a nice balance between some of the the the lighter moments between the characters. It was very interesting. Really enjoyed it. What do you think in terms of some of the other books that you've worked on?

[00:21:35] - [Speaker 2]
Has anything ever, you know, better, prepared you to write a story like this or to write, you know, these types of characters? Because I know you've done things before with, well, we'll say non nonhuman characters.

[00:21:51] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. So I've I worked on some 101 Dalmatians kids comics. Obviously, they're for a much younger audience, and they're puppies and kittens, and it's a lot cuter. So I think, like Penelope's, this story is like different from anything I've ever worked on, and like working with a full animal cast is like challenging in it's own way. But there, just because there's some like limitations in a way there, but it was super fun to just build a society from scratch in the Bronx Zoo, and like see how all these captive animals would interact with each other.

[00:22:37] - [Speaker 3]
And then like you have the free animals, the squirrels, are basically like gangsters of the Bronx.

[00:22:44] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah.

[00:22:47] - [Speaker 3]
So, yeah. This is definitely different than anything I've ever worked on before, but that made it, like, so much more fun and so unique.

[00:22:58] - [Speaker 2]
When you thought about wanting to create this and pitching it somewhere, did like the pitch come together easily, or were there any thoughts of like, oh my god, is anybody is anybody actually gonna bite on on this story of a platypus that escapes from the Bronx Zoo? Or were you like, no. This is definitely gonna work. This is gonna work.

[00:23:15] - [Speaker 3]
I was like, I'm gonna make this work. But

[00:23:19] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. I love that. Yeah.

[00:23:23] - [Speaker 3]
But no, there's definitely a part of me, I was like, this story's weird. Like, this is this is weird. I think this I don't know who's gonna go for it, but like, it's a story that I really did feel like compelled to write, and to tell, and I remember I think I sent the pitch to like a potential literary agent at some point too, and she was like, this is wacky, and I was just like, yeah it is, it's really wacky. So I'm very grateful to Maverick and Mad Cave for taking a chance on this platypus and me, yeah, and for kinda like letting me go for it. Lauren, she was great.

[00:24:05] - [Speaker 3]
She kinda just like, let me fly, and like, kinda let me do whatever I wanted, and like, there weren't really any limits, or like boundaries so much. So I, we could get kind of as weird as we wanted to, which was great. Yeah.

[00:24:22] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah.

[00:24:23] - [Speaker 3]
There's a lot of freedom there. So

[00:24:26] - [Speaker 2]
Well, I I mentioned this before we started recording in terms of your creative creator bio mentions your your two dogs, Indiana Jones and and Halle Berry, which I I thought of, like, 40 different questions I wanted to ask about Indiana Jones and and Halle Berry. But but I they might only be interesting to me and you. But I will I I did wanna know in terms of your journey to get to here, like, when did you start, you know, writing comics and graphic novels, and what made you wanna do that in the first place?

[00:25:02] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. When I was 15, I wrote my first script, which was The Comet, which ended up being published by Inside Editions a few years later. And then from there, I was given the opportunity to write the Mean Girls graphic novel sequel, also with Inside Editions. So that was awesome. And then, yeah, kind of take a break after that, and then I'm kinda trying to like build up again, trying to like, you know, work with more licensed titles, and stuff like that.

[00:25:42] - [Speaker 3]
But I have been around comics my entire life. My dad was an anchor for Marvel and DC, and so I've been going to Comic Con in San Diego since I was like, in a stroller.

[00:25:56] - [Speaker 2]
Oh, wow.

[00:25:57] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. I've been around comics my whole life, and so I I never really thought that's kind of like the medium that I would end up in, but I'm really happy that's kind of where I ended up. Like with the comet, when I wrote that script when I was a teenager, was I just like, it has to be a comic, like I need the illustrations, I need the collaboration for this story to work, and Penelope's the exact same way. Like I was like, I don't know if this story would translate in any other medium. So, yeah.

[00:26:30] - [Speaker 3]
That's kinda how we how I ended up here.

[00:26:33] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah. The, so the comet is is one I wasn't familiar with, but I I, you know, in looking into your background for this, I I wanna get and check out.

[00:26:44] - [Speaker 2]
You worked with Francine Delgado for that?

[00:26:47] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. Yeah. She's amazing.

[00:26:49] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. Oh my god. I love I think I met Francine. Just met her once at maybe Baltimore Comic Con. She was there, but just a huge fan of her work.

[00:27:00] - [Speaker 2]
It was very nice to just I mean, I don't know her other than to see her at convention and I just said, you know, hi, big fan. I got a comic signed by her. But

[00:27:09] - [Speaker 3]
She's like the nicest human being ever. Like, yeah. She's amazing and super talented and she's like blown up. I think that was like, one of the first books that like, well first book I ever worked on, and one of the first that she ever worked on too. So it was very like early on.

[00:27:28] - [Speaker 3]
But yeah, she's, we've done a couple of things, and, like, created a couple of different pitches together just because we wanna work together again. But yeah. She's amazing.

[00:27:41] - [Speaker 2]
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So I'll try and put a link to the show notes for listeners to check out, the comet because, yeah, that sounds pretty incredible. And it's was it 2018?

[00:27:53] - [Speaker 2]
So it was eight years ago.

[00:27:55] - [Speaker 3]
Mhmm. Yeah.

[00:27:56] - [Speaker 2]
What what was it like, you know, writing that at such a young age and going through that process and getting it, you know, published? Was it an experience that you look back on and think, oh my gosh. Having published some other things, like, you would have done things differently, or you feel like, oh, I'm that's, you know, it's incredible that that happened because it's it's almost a miracle to make anything and get anything made no matter who you are. Right?

[00:28:23] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. No. For sure. I I was so young and I still feel this way, but I'm just always like happy to be in the room. I'm just like, well, I'm so happy to just be there, to like be considered, and to be working on anything.

[00:28:40] - [Speaker 3]
So I was so excited and I like looking back maybe now, like I kinda let the editors at the time like do whatever they wanted with the story. I was like, yeah, whatever you say, you know, I don't know anything. So like, and now maybe looking back, I I probably should have taken more of the reins, and like, kinda structured the story, and wrote it more the way I had intended it. Because the final version that came out was like a little bit different than like what my original vision was. Yeah.

[00:29:14] - [Speaker 3]
But it was a really good experience, and I would not have gotten the Mean Girls book without the comment. I wouldn't have even been considered, or even been allowed to pitch, I don't think, for that project. So I'm like eternally grateful that that one that it's even out there in like the and yeah, that it led to that work.

[00:29:37] - [Speaker 2]
So Yeah. Well, I think I think, you know, it it can be hard no matter how old you are or how long you've been doing this to, to, you know, take the reins, you know, some so as you've said sometimes. When I started and I've writing things and submitting things to anthologies only a few years ago, like, in my day job, I feel incredibly confident. But, yeah, I was I'm I'm still the same way where someone's like, what about this? I'm like, yeah.

[00:30:07] - [Speaker 2]
Sure. Okay. I'm just I'm just, like, making comics. Right, guys? We're all just making comics.

[00:30:12] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. Like, whatever you want. I'm just, you know, I'm happy to be like Yeah.

[00:30:19] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. I I I totally I totally get it. And so do you have other stuff that you're working on right now? Do you have, have ideas for things? Like, how

[00:30:33] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. I Yep. I'm working on one project right now that I can't talk about just yet, but I will have a another creator owned book coming out in twenty twenty seven ish, somewhere around there with Maverick again.

[00:30:50] - [Speaker 2]
So nice.

[00:30:51] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. They yeah. They have an amazing team just from like their editors, marketing, everything that they're able to provide writers, and creators, and illustrators is pretty impressive. So, yeah, I'll have another original graphic novel coming out with them, that I'm really excited about. But yeah, that's it for now at least.

[00:31:15] - [Speaker 3]
Well. Yeah. Hopefully more to come but

[00:31:18] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. Look, that's enough that's enough. I said it. It's incredibly hard to make anything, to get anything made. So it it always feels like a minor miracle when when, you know, something is done and finished and out and on, the stands.

[00:31:31] - [Speaker 3]
100%.

[00:31:33] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. So in do you still being around comics for so long and making your own comics and graphic novels, like, do you still have time to to read to for fun? Like, do you still enjoy checking out what's coming out right now? And are you reading anything

[00:31:51] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. I I'm a big Kindle girly, so I always got some something. Right now, I'm reading book three of the dungeon crawler carl series.

[00:32:03] - [Speaker 2]
Okay.

[00:32:04] - [Speaker 3]
Which has been really fun. So I'll probably stay in that universe for a while. I really wanna check out Temporal by Stephanie Williams. I've hear I've heard really good things, and I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. But I yeah.

[00:32:18] - [Speaker 3]
That's another graphic novel, by Madcapes Studios, and Yeah. Yeah. So I Yeah. I really wanna check that one out. But, yeah.

[00:32:30] - [Speaker 3]
I I try to make time to, read as much as I can. I think that's like the best source of inspiration. Right? Is seeing what other people are coming out with and yeah.

[00:32:41] - [Speaker 2]
Oh, yeah. I mean, especially when I find something that I feel like, oh, I could never I could never do this, or, like, how did they the team do this in a comic? Somebody just was talking about blue and green the other day, and that's a comic where I'm just like, I don't I don't I don't know how anyone thought of this, made this. Like it's just, I find it, you know, incredible.

[00:33:07] - [Speaker 3]
I find myself doing that a lot with graphic novels especially. Like the Oh, yeah. The concepts that people come up with like, I think that's one of the coolest things about comics is like, there are no limits like whatsoever. There's something out there for everyone and yeah, it's like, absolutely. It's like, you can get as crazy, you know, as people want.

[00:33:32] - [Speaker 3]
So yeah.

[00:33:33] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. I totally agree. To to turn back to to Penelope's story, like, what do you hope that readers kinda take away from her story? I mean, we talked about some of the themes of it, some of the stuff that went into it. Is there anything in particular?

[00:33:50] - [Speaker 2]
If somebody picks up the book and reads it, like is there anything that you hope, you know, if if they come away that they come away with?

[00:33:58] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. I I really hope that readers see her story and realize the amount of power that comes with reclaiming your agency, and realizing that you have a choice, and even in a situation like hers, where there's such great forces working against her, you know, she still escaped, she still found her freedom. And I just think, yeah, there's there's a lot of power, especially for young women, in reclaiming your ability to choose what you want for yourself. And so I yeah. I hope that's something that, people get from her story.

[00:34:37] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. I mean, that's, I think, very powerful. And I mean, I think that is a 100% in the story that that you have written for, you know, for Penelope. It I think it is like I said, I think it works on several different levels. It is incredible, and it is a very powerful and and and moving story.

[00:35:04] - [Speaker 2]
Was there anything that you found in terms of your research into the real life that you wanted to include, but you felt was maybe too weird or wacky even for this?

[00:35:20] - [Speaker 3]
I tried to stay as true to her her real timeline as possible, which was in which meant including things that I was like, well, I have to include it because this is what happened. But I think the coolest part of this story is that the chapter breaks of the book are actual New York Times headlines. And those that those words that you're reading underneath the images that Prenzy created, those are the actual articles. Like, I literally just reprinted them here. So you can follow her her real story, like if you just follow those page breaks, those chapter breaks.

[00:36:00] - [Speaker 3]
Which is like the coolest part to me. But Yeah. Yeah. I tried to include every every article, or every like nuance that I could pretty much find from her story. I think the only thing I probably left out was, as you mentioned earlier, Cecil's kinda demise.

[00:36:21] - [Speaker 3]
His his ending is not talked about in this book. Yeah. But, yeah. Yeah.

[00:36:29] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. It's it's it's a sad end for for Cecil in in real life.

[00:36:35] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. And he is an empathetic villain, but yeah.

[00:36:40] - [Speaker 2]
Well, you know what? I I I would say though, when we first meet Cecil and throughout most of it, I don't think I don't I didn't find him, to be a particularly empathetic villain except through Penelope. Mhmm. And what she tells, you know, Cuddlepot about him or when when Cuddlepot and Penelope are talking about Cecil. It's it was it's very interesting because of, especially her reaction to him from the moment she's introduced to him.

[00:37:16] - [Speaker 2]
And you kind of threw another character can find at least some measure of of empathy for the the character of Cecil. I thought that was pretty remarkable.

[00:37:27] - [Speaker 3]
I mean, I think, like, like, everything in life, like, everyone operates in a gray area. Right? Like, no one's like, cut and dry, like terrible, or you know, no one's cut and dry a hero. And so like, I think for Penelope, the that's one of the reasons why you really relate to her is because she is able to find, know, that little bit of little bit of goodness in him, or that little bit of empathy, or that little bit of reason why like, oh, his situation kinda sucks too. Like, he's a victim in his own way.

[00:38:01] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. Yeah. I thought that was very very interesting. You know, how kind of his backstory was explained that he's basically the way he is. He's a product of what the humans have told him and almost created him to be.

[00:38:17] - [Speaker 2]
Seeing him through that lens, especially after how Cecil treated Penelope, I I thought really spoke a lot to the character of Penelope that that you created for this. But, yeah, it's it's it's a remarkable story. I mean, I'm telling you listeners, if if you just just see, like, the cover of it and, like, flip through, you're really gonna be surprised by I think you're really gonna be surprised by by the story. I I think it is you could look at it as, like, a fun, wacky as Ariana said adventure, but it is it is a really deep and powerful tale. And, yeah, I I was pretty much blown away by it.

[00:38:57] - [Speaker 2]
I just I thought it was incredible. So Thank you so Aria, welcome. You're welcome. I I well, before we wrap up, I'll let you have the last word. Is there anything else that you want listeners to know either about anything you have coming out, anywhere you're gonna be promoting the book, or, anything about the book itself?

[00:39:20] - [Speaker 3]
I guess just, you know, it comes out on July 21, as you mentioned at the beginning. Really excited about it. I will be at San Diego Comic Con this year, and I'll be at New York Comic Con as well. Those are the only two shows I'll be doing for 2026. But yeah.

[00:39:38] - [Speaker 3]
And then I'm based in Arizona, so hopefully doing a few like local stuff in Phoenix and Tucson. But yeah. And then if you wanna follow my Instagram, it's pages by Ari. And then I post a lot of Penelope content on there. And then, know, promoting like all the the other books and stuff as well.

[00:40:01] - [Speaker 3]
So,

[00:40:01] - [Speaker 2]
yeah. Awesome. Awesome. So, well, 2026 is the year of Penelope themed books. As listeners know, my paper cuts graphic novel, Penny, and the Yeti, came out in April.

[00:40:14] - [Speaker 2]
So if you've gotten Penny and the Yeti, go also and get, Penelope's escape from the platypusery. My youngest daughter is named Penelope. Oh. This is you can see that I have a Penelope tattoo on my arm. Sorry.

[00:40:31] - [Speaker 2]
Listeners, if you watch this on YouTube, you you can see my tattoo. But yeah. So That's awesome. Thought it was wonderful.

[00:40:41] - [Speaker 3]
You got a different, like, collection.

[00:40:43] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Lot of lot of Penelope, lot of Penny stuff this year from from Mad Cave and Maverick and Papercuts. So listeners, I'll have links in the show notes.

[00:40:57] - [Speaker 2]
The book, as Ariana just said, is out July 21. Go check it out. I'll I'll try and put links in the show notes or at least I'll mention so that you can go and find the comet or the mean girls work that Ariana has done. And, yeah, I'll links to her social media so follow you her. And if you're going to San Diego or New York Comic Con, be sure to stop and say hi and get your copy of Penelope's Escape from the Platypus resigned.

[00:41:23] - [Speaker 2]
I'm I'm sure she'll do that. I I just said that not even knowing, but hopefully, that's what that's what folks call conventions. Right?

[00:41:29] - [Speaker 3]
Absolutely. It comes to

[00:41:32] - [Speaker 2]
your Alright, listeners. Thank you so much for listening. I really appreciate it, and do all the stuff they tell you to do about podcast. Rate and review us. You know, say nice things.

[00:41:44] - [Speaker 2]
You can follow us on social media and all that stuff. And let me know, especially if what you're reading, what you're into, especially if you pick up a copy of Penelope's Escape and the Platypus three. I'd love to talk to you about it. And, again, listeners, I've said this before. I'm gonna say it again.

[00:41:58] - [Speaker 2]
Don't let the designation of something as, like, You scare you off. This is an incredible graphic novel. I know some folks here are like You, and they're like, it's not for me. Well, you're wrong, and you should get it and read it. Alright?

[00:42:13] - [Speaker 2]
So thank you to my guest, Ariana Irwin. That's it. That's all I got. Good night, and I'll see you next time.

[00:42:22] - [Speaker 4]
Jimmy is too humble to do this. So as his stower ride or die, I wanted to tell you about his new graphic novel, Penny and the Yeti with artist Amber Aiken. What started as a comic short with his daughter that I've known about for ages now, and it's evolved and has become one of those annoying can't talk about it in comic things for too damn long. Yes. I'm predisposed to be supportive but after reading an advanced copy of it, I have to admit it's way better than I anticipated.

[00:42:50] - [Speaker 4]
No shade but it's really good, remarkably so. Does it have a yeti? Yeah. Is it cute and adorable? Yeah.

[00:42:57] - [Speaker 4]
But it streak lies in effectively tapping into the all too familiar family dynamics that we all are facing in 2026 and approaching it in a way that doesn't insult the book's target audience, kids. They are way smarter and perceptive than we adults give them credit for. So I really appreciated Jimmy's narrative approach tapping into his own experiences as a dad and a spouse. I can hear his wife saying, get off your phone, Jimmy, through the pages. She's gonna kill me for saying that.

[00:43:25] - [Speaker 4]
It's hitting shelves on April 21, and I dropped the link in the show notes where you can preorder a copy today. Getty or not, here we come with Penny, Perry, Fenton, Maxine, and the magical, mythical, magnificent Yeti. On behalf of us both, we appreciate your support. YOLOLA. This is Byron O'Neill, one of your hosts of the Cryptid Creator Corner brought to you by Comic Book Yeti.

[00:43:51] - [Speaker 4]
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of our podcast. Please rate, review, subscribe, all that good stuff. It lets us know how we're doing and more importantly, how we can improve. Thanks for listening.

[00:44:05] - [Speaker 0]
If you enjoyed this episode of the Cryptid Creator Corner, maybe you would enjoy our sister podcast, Into the Comics Cave. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.