Career
Gabriel Shaoolian is a graduate of New York University. He began his career as a graphic designer in 1995 in New York City. [4]
In 2001, he started an independent career as a freelance web designer. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Shaoolian founded in 2003 his own website development and online marketing company, under the name Gabriel Productions, later re-branded in 2005 as Blue Fountain Media . [10] [11] At first, the company functioned as Shaoolian's self-employed freelancer business. He focused on brand marketing, studying user behavior, website bounce rate, and individual pages performance. [12] [13] [14] [15] Shaoolian expanded the company without taking loans or investment money. [16] Blue Fountain Media developed websites and online strategies for Procter & Gamble, NASA, HarperCollins Publishers, AT&T, Nike, the United Nations, Canon, and the National Football League. [17] [18]
In 2017, after selling Blue Fountain Media to Blackstone, [19] Gabriel Shaoolian started DesignRush as an agency director. After growing the company, Shaoolian took on investors and remains on the board.
In 2019, Shaoolian founded Digital Silk, a full-service web design agency. [20] [21] [22] The company offers digital experiences through strategic branding, web design and development, and digital marketing services. In 2024, Digital Silk was named one of the best web design companies by Forbes. [23]
In 2024, Shaoolian founded OysterLink, a job platform in the restaurant and hospitality industry. The platform provides top-paying jobs, market insights, tips, real-time data, expert advice, and interviews with industry leaders to help businesses and candidates stay competitive. [24]
Shaoolian is a regular contributor to The New York Times, [25] Huffington Post, [26] and Forbes [27] on digital business topics. He is also featured in other media coverage on similar topics (like The Washington Post, [28] CNN Tech, [29] Reuters [30] or Bloomberg TV). [31]
Biowars
Gabriel Shaoolian work on his digital comic book project, Biowars . [32] It's an online platform that teaches kids about biology in a fun way, helping them explore the human body. [33]
The first issue of Biowars, titled "Infection", appeared in November 2013. [34] Written by Mark Powers, who also worked at Marvel Comics and Devil's Due, the comic introduced a number of human characters living in New York, in addition to heroes and villains who possess both curative and virulent qualities. [35]
Subsequent issues have since been released on a monthly or bimonthly basis, with its twelfth and latest issue, named "Cosmic Will", released in March 2016.
Storyline
The story of Biowars centers on Alex Hawking, a student living in Manhattan who is inadvertently passed the Z-Kron pathogen by his father, who then dies from exposure to the biological agent. After receiving the germ, Alex joins up with a reporter who is writing a story on the deadly germ's creators, known as The Combine.
The virus, which Nerd Reactor says is "designed to annihilate the human immune system: a far more efficient and untraceable version of an assassin's bullet," then takes readers inside Alex's immune system, or BioCosmos.
Moving between New York and inside Alex Hawking's body, readers are introduced to characters from The Combine who are searching for Alex, as well as heroes, biological mutants and microbes in humanoid form living inside of Alex.
Reception
Since its publication, writers at comic-related websites have published critical reviews of Biowars. Wired wrote this of the comic, "Anthropomorphized immune and nervous system cells in mortal combat? Yes please! Perfect for converting kids from comic nerds to science nerds." [36]
In the Burning Blogger of Bedlam, the author wrote of Biowars' concept, "It is a fascinating concept right from the get-go and one with rich potential. To my knowledge, the inner world of the biological landscape isn't something that has been explored much in comic books (if at all). So right away, I felt like I was experiencing something fresh and new." [37]
Pirate Jenny, of the site Black Girl Nerds , said of the art and themes in Biowars, "With gorgeously detailed illustrations and a creative take on well-known themes including humanity and justice, Biowars delivers an interesting and entertaining story." [38]
In September 2015, Biowars reported to have gained a following of 126,000 Facebook fans and readers leading up to its second year of publication. [39]
Games
In 2015 the digital comic released a and series of mobile gaming apps that allow readers to interact with characters and storylines from the series.
Biowars: Blastor's Saga is a side-scrolling shooter where players become the Biowarrior Blastor and use the character's Antibody Cannons and cyto-skeletal armor to attack enemies.
Biowars: Invisible War is a side-scrolling shooter that allows users to play as a Biowars hero against invading pathogens with the help of another BioWarrior while avoiding in-game terrain.
Biowars: Phagien's Quest is a side-scrolling shooter where users play as the Macrophage Commander Phagien against viruses and microbes inside the human body.
Biowars: Swipe 'N Slash is a game similar to Fruit Ninja, where users select different BioWarriors to defeat microbial threats inside the human body.
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