For 30 years he has amused, entertained and often shocked - and all with a mere pencil, drawing pad and a razor sharp wit.

But despite chortling over his cartoons in The Guardian for those three decades, the general public know very little about Steve Bell.

A Brighton resident, a rare speaking appearance at Shoreham's Ropetackle to launch his graphic novel If was lapped up by people of all ages and political leanings.

An unashamed lefty, his dislike for Thatcher, Major and Blair were clear.

But there was real warmth with the way he spoke about his "victims" - and like all good journalists there was a deep understanding and respect for the pressures they were under.

In just over an hour, a whole host of categories were touched upon - from how it all started with sketches of train stations in Berkshire to Charlie Hebdo to why he always draws David Cameron with a condom on his head.

Anecdotes such as the PM telling him "there's only so far you can push a condom..." were lapped up those watching.

And by the end of play there was a real understanding for the immediacy, the emotion and the skill that satirical illustration offers.

Four stars