Thank You JJ Kirby

[Eddy]

Remember that post about hiring a colorist that was on here awhile ago? Well, we received a LOT of coloring samples for it and JJ was really happy to see everyone bring their A-game to the challenge, but eventually we narrowed our pick down to Gabe Eltaeb.

I think Gabe's been posting comments on this blog forever, so it was nice to see a long-time supporter joining our ranks here. (That makes two hires thanks to this blog, including Livio Ramondelli recently, for anyone keeping score at home.)

Above, is the piece that he submitted, but here he is to tell you a little bit more about himself:

Hello everyone, my name is Gabe Eltaeb and I am the new guy here at WildStorm.

When I was 13 years old in 1991 my good friend Shawn Bandy showed me the first issue of the adjective-less X-Men illustrated by none other than Jim Lee. I had always liked comics but I never had purchased them. When I saw this cover my life changed instantly. I decided then and there to become a comic book artist when I grew up.

I have been a freelance comic book artist since 2004. In that time I have been working as a penciller, inker, colorist and sometimes letterer for some other publishers.

One night this last September, I was up late finishing some coloring for a project. Even though it was around 2:00 am I sometimes like to do a little web surfing after I finish work to unwind. I check out the sports scores and read some comics-related sites and then I check out the Gelotometti blog. On this particular night I see a headline that would change my life: "Hiring - Colorist." On the site they had a picture of Superman in black and white with instructions to color it and submit it. Hmmm...

I am so tired from working all day and I really don't want to color it. I want to go to bed. When I look at the blog's comments section I see that a handful of people have already colored this illustration so I decide to forgo sleep and start making rainbows with Photoshop.

I post a link to my colored piece and hit the hay (It takes me 20 minutes to figure out how to hotlink an image in blogger, it is not like regular html, but that is another post.)

About a week and a half later I get a call from WildStorm telling me they saw my art on the blog and asking if I would be willing to relocate. Long story short, here I am working for WildStorm in the most beautiful city in the world.

I have been on the job a little over a week now. Everyone has been so kind and friendly here, I feel like I am starting to fit in. I look forward to bringing some CMYK joy to the DC/ WildStorm books.

Cheers
-Gabe