Rested and Returned
Frantic Scribbles & Senseless Ramblings July 2026
You’re reading Frantic Scribbles and Senseless Ramblings, the monthly newsletter of Asa Wheatley.
Making progress
We’re a little late but hopefully what I’m showing off this month will make up for it.
First off I’ve just got back from an absolutely wonderful holiday in Albufeira, Portugal with Sammy. We went to basically just spend a week at the beach and that’s pretty much what we did. It’s exactly what I needed. I realised I hadn’t had much of a break from the day job since the start of the year, in fact the last day off I took was to go to MCM. Even on my days off I was still working!
The heat was manageable with the sea breeze and even though the water was freezing (I am a wimp when it comes to cold water) the sea was truly stunning to be in. So unsurprisingly the last week of July has been pretty unproductive in the most productive way. I just needed a way to not be able to do any work so I could come back refreshed and ready to go again.
Before we went away I did manage to get all of the copies of A Walk Within The Queen’s Wood Issue 1 out to backers. It’s been great to see the response to a whole new series. It’s always nerve wrecking launching something new so it’s great to see if found it’s audience. If you’ve read it I’d love to know what you thought and if you’re excited for issue 2.
I’m looking forward to taking it to conventions later in the year as it’s a brand new series to share with new readers and it’ll expand my horror comics range too!
In between packing and posting, I was putting the final touches on the Shield Maiden vol. 6 scripts. It’s always fun to come back to this world and these characters and I’m taking them to some interesting places. I hope you’ll trust me to take you on this journey with our intrepid hero, things are going to get intense.
Not only are the scripts now with the artists but we’ve got our first look at our Book Six cover!
Perfectly illustrated by Federica Mancin, I absolutely love this cover and it’s not even coloured yet! That’s coming soon but I wanted to share a little preview here and let you know you can sign up to the Kickstarter pre-launch page today! The Kickstarter will be launching September/October so keep your eyes peeled as there will be early bird rewards you are not going to want to miss!
Sagas of the Shield Maiden Book Six - Scripts with Artists.
A Walk Within the Queen’s Wood - Issue 1 Kickstarter fulfilled. Issue 2 drafting script.
Project Slasher - 1st issue 1st draft complete.
Project Murder - Project paused.
Project Full Moon - Very early planning stages.
Upcoming Conventions
A massive update to the con schedule this year as I’ve had confirmation that I’ll be exhibiting at MCM in October! MCM May was my best con yet so I’m excited to come back and see what October will be like!
Keep an eye on this space for table numbers and all the conventions I will be exhibiting at this year. I always love catching up with readers at cons so make sure you swing by and say hello if you’re attending.
MCM London – 23rd - 25th October, Excel London - Artist Alley Table Number TBC
Thought Bubble – 14th - 15th November, Harrogate Convention Centre
All consuming, consuming all
The Starving Saints - This was my holiday read and I devoured it. Reading about the horrible conditions of a starving castle while on a beautiful beach was the perfect experience. It was fun to flip between the three lead character’s perspectives and the world building was perfect for me. Just enough to get me interested but nothing overly explained or long winded. It felt very Dark Souls/From Software in that way, feeding you little bits of information and letting you join the dots. I’ll definitely be taking a look at Caitlin Starling’s other books and now more than ever I’m also very much in the mood for more Medieval/fantasy horror so let me know if you’ve got any recommendations!
The Odyssey - I don’t have anything particularly nuanced to say about this other than I often found myself just staring at the screen in awe. It’s was truly spectacular in every sense of the word. The cast is excellent and I honestly can not wait to watch it again.
Brush Talk
Despite seemingly having very little free time this month I did manage to get another whole box of miniatures painted this month. Granted it’s a slightly smaller and less intense project compared to the Star Wars Legion box but I’m just happy putting paint to plastic!
Final Girl is a solo horror game - along Sammy & I play cooperatively - where you control a, surprise surprise, final girl in a horror film. You pick up a core set and then you can grab any one of their many ‘Film Boxes’, which are legally distinct versions of famous slashers/killers and horror film settings. My favourite film of all time is The Thing so obviously I had to pick up the relevant film box for Final Girl, Panic at Station 2891. We played it last year and what I love about the game is that each box has its own killer and slightly different rules for the location and killer. This box has some fun little mechanics with an evolving and secret killer. When we were at UKGE earlier this year I spotted the minis for Panic at Station 2891 and felt it was only right I picked them up!
I wanted to keep the painting time pretty quick on these mostly using contrast/speed paint and I’m really happy with the results. Plus it was an excuse to do my favourite kind of basing, snow! The whole box probably took me less time than painting just Luke from the SW Legion starter set but it’s nice to have that different kind of painting experience. Not every mini has to be painted to the highest of high standards. Now we’ve just got to find time to get the minis on the table!
You Like it, You Link it!
Nothing Stays Buried #1 - I remember writer Aaron Thompson first telling me about this and I’ve been eagerly awaiting it since then. It’s a noir/detective story set in Viking England, what is not to like?! Shield Maiden fans should definitely check this out, I’ve already backed for my copy!