Let me reintroduce you to "Cobra" issue 1...

It's taken me awhile to get back to working on many of the side projects that got shelved during grad school and dealing with general burnout, but I'm happy to report I've stepped out from under the burnout cloud and I'm getting creative again on a whole new level.

Let me reintroduce to you a brand new art book from JKFA Books and Seri-Tone Press: Cobra.

The plan was to design and create a simple, laser printed zine to satisfy the zine-creating bug, but as I began to have production issues with my laser printer, I needed to shift gears and think of alternate ways to produce the book. Ultimately, I decided Cobra needed to be entirely screen printed, which afforded me the ability to enlarge the overall size of the book and experiment with different sizes of page spreads.

As Cobra started coming together, the original zine concept quickly became something more, something elevated. In the end, Cobra became a piece of hand made art with each square inch of paper being hand printed and assembled. 'Chapbook' is a more appropriate term for what I made, utilizing four different paper stocks and spot varnishing. I really enjoy the dual cover that is happening here, as it gives the book more interesting dimensions. There is some really fun bits of detail in this book. Fans of halftones and punk aesthetics might dig this book.

I've done so little screen printing the last few years it was nice to buckle down and get a mass amount of printing underway for this book. I'm a little rusty, but screen printing is like riding a bike. Cobra has definitely opened up more possibilities for other book designs and production ideas. In fact, I'm already working on Cobra issue 2 designs (before I even complete issue 1 production) as well as some spin-off ideas. I'm hoping to utilize a combination of other printmaking techniques for future editions of Cobra, as long as I can stay interested in the process.

The title for "Cobra" came about due to my growing dissatisfaction with the original "Magnet" title. I had planned to relaunch Magnet since losing all of the design to my original series, but the more I thought about it, the more I found the word incredibly awkward to say. Cobra just had a better ring to it and rolls off the tongue nicely. 'Cobra' also comes from the Bo Diddley song, "Who Do You Love": "I walk 47 miles of barbwire, I wear a cobra snake as a neck tie." Hence, the new title.

There isn't a static logo for Cobra, but I like the idea of the logo being fluid without putting too much emphasis on brand identity. As far as the contents go, the book consists of a collection of found imagery, analog collage designs, original photography and halftones galore. Did I mention it was entirely screen printed by hand? The book also come with a few stand-alone prints and a couple of stickers to round out the extras. I need to hurry up and start shipping out all of the pre-ordered copies before I think up anything else to add to the mix. Like all creatives, we must find the line to stop tinkering on projects before they become a runaway train. I think I'm at that point. Regardless, I'm happy with how this project turned out, even if I could spend more time working on it. Hopefully, everyone else will dig it as much as me.

Details:

20 pages

Comic book size

Lettered edition of 26 copies

First printing

Summer 2025 served as a great window of time to design, print, and assemble Cobra 1 that I'm really looking forward to spending Summer 2026 working on Cobra 2. I'd like to produce Cobra more frequently, but time doesn't really allow for that, currently So, an annual edition of Cobra will have to suffice. Issue 2 will probably expand to a few more pages as design concepts come together, including some news bells and whistles.

SIDE NOTE: I'd like to produce a future issue of Cobra as a Risograph-printed edition, but I've discovered it's challenging to find a somewhat local print studio offering Riso services to outsiders. If you aren't familiar with Risograph printing, it's basically a photocopy machine that produces a screen print-like quality using soy-based inks. It's a very cool process that's been around in Japan for many years, but has just become more commonplace in the US. Until I can access some Riso print options, newsprint is the other alternative media on my list. Newspaper Club out of Manchester, England has been a great company to work with in the past. I have a one-shot zine, called "Always Crashing in the Same Car" currently in the works that I'll probably have Newspaper Club print. In fact, I was just about to go to press with that zine when I decided to go in a different design direction entirely. That zine is currently on hiatus until I can get back to it.

Anyhow, if it isn't abundantly clear, I'm really proud of Cobra 1 and look forward to many more issues. It's great to make something and have it exist for sheer pleasure versus doing something for strictly commercial purposes. I often find just making something so it exists is generally more fulfilling than making something to sell. If Cobra sells, great. If not, that's great, too. I made Cobra for me above all.

You can find a few remaining copies of issue 1 in the shop while supplies last. It ain't cheap, but what is these days.