Good question. To analize the 'ground zero' of a success is always smart, interesting and useful. Roberts said that Black Van wasn't an artistic 'masterpiece', but I differ. One of the keys of that success was the artistic element. We KNEW that there was a PRO behind it, not some amateur. It wasn't some laughable artistic attempt, this guy was serious about the quality of his stuff. You could tell that there was a COMIC ARTIST behind it, maybe some known artist under a fake name, maybe some rogue artist going crazy, but it certainly was a Pro's work... and it was, now we know the guy worked for Disney, same as in several media platforms, he does realistic high quality pin up art too, etc.ROBERTS wrote:OK you guys, tell me..if you dare...what exactly IS it about that very first "Black Van"?
Why did THAT one make such a hit?
The next element maybe the most important, as some users here already explained, was the 'no bullshiting around' factor, the right to the point element is key. Roberts is a 'right to the point' kinda person, and that shows in his art. Nobody wants to lose time, everyone wants the 'hard to get' experience to be good, fast, clear and to the point. And Roberts offered just that.
Black Van was that rare 'real deal' uncensored option, back in the corporated comic business days, when we had to get our dirty comics in the stores. No one would dare to publish something like Black Van and put it on the streets... So, to offer the quality comic you couldn't get any other way and publish it right in people's screens was a move destined to succeed.
I would say, it was Roberts's visceral passion, balls of steel, unbreakable commitment, madness and artistic skills what gave him the upper hand in that comic BDSM first e-wave. Each one of those elements were necessary to get it done.
Now the scenario is totally different, the 'Real Deal' is no more, it got swallowed and drowned by the internet's tsunami of peer-to-peer instant data delivery. So, a 'Real Artist' is not what it used to be. There's not an 'official' quality scale anymore, like in the past, when only the 'best' could get their stuff published in a quality magazine, in a quality store and get the best spot inside that store... OR getting a frigging JOB in the frigging Disney CORP. There was a whole system designed to purge the artist's quality, and put the best on top, build the 'Real Artists'. Now that system is destroyed, no comic artist would get a 'job' in a building, sit in a desk, get done with his labour day and go home. That system is over, and the new young wannabe artists are completely lost.
Another obvious element to have into account: High value media productions needs lots and lots of agreements to get through just to reach a sketch board. A comic can be done by one single person. No matter how high the CORP rises the technical bar in the production comic market, a single guy, a pen and some paper, still can get it done. In a world market scene where 'fair competition' gets stomped and decapitated mercilessly, the CORP must HATE TO DEATH a 'guy' who can get it done by himself. That's why nations in search for self-dependence gets missiles in their asses.
Roberts was in the right place at the right time, with the will to do what he wanted to do, before the system knew what was going on. Now the system accommodated itself to the new scenario: people doesn't need anymore to run to the streets to get what they want. Now the 'obsolete' system ladder has to be builded again, and it is being re-done by the minute. We can see it everyday: Youtube, Facebook, Paypal, Amazon, Blogspot, Skype, Appstore, Android, Flash, server/data store services, google-search-results ranking, yahoo news, etc... that's the new corporated ladder system. It would take hundreds of interesting lines to analize and discuss this new SYSTEM in construction, where is it going, how to climb inside it... but let's talk about something quite more nice...
Lovely Roberts girls! It's that 80'/90's vibe on them that I like specially. The high-cut line on their 'wardrobe', the always athletic body, that sorta 'disney princess' feel to them faces. Roberts style reminds me of the cuteness of some Ariel little mermaid, the hottest Disney babe in my opinion.
Roberts lines make their bodies look so soft, you can almost touch-feel the soft curvy skin, feel the warmth of their skin line.
Here's a humble personal take on the Roberts girl type. I gave her the white bandana, the classic 80's 'walkman' and white sneakers... I wonder what is she listening to on that cassette, some Bon jovi perhaps?... Maybe Roberts has a better soundtrack choose for her...
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