If I took a quick poll to try and find out the identity of most Shansters' favourite bad guy, I think Lord Loss from my Demonata series would place highly... maybe Murlough from my vampire books... Dan-Dan from my Zom-B series... fans of my books for adults might give a shout out to the Cardinal from my City Trilogy... but I suspect that right at the top of the pile, probably a long way clear of his rivals, would perch a certain Steve Leopard, who we first met, of course, in Cirque Du Freak.

Steve has proven a popular choice for fan artists over the last twenty-two years -- after Mr Crepsley, Darren and Lord Loss, he's probably the most-drawn character (although Evra, Harkat, the three members of the Kah-Gash, and Mr Tiny would be knocking elbows with him to claim that fourth spot). And here are four recent stunning portraits to bolster his claim as the #1 villain of Shanville.

The first, black-and-white drawing, is by Coro. The second, a sketch, is by Liv. The third, with the glorious red backdrop, is by Mutio. And the fourth, with a weeping Steve, is by Rou.

I love all four, but I do have a special attachment to the fourth, because this is how I always saw Steve too -- as a flawed, troubled kid, who took a few serious wrong turns in life (some engineered by that infamous meddler, Mr Tiny), and found himself too far down the road of darkness to be able to face turning back. He became a true monster, most certainly, but he was also all-too-human, and I think most of us feel at least a smidgin of sympathy for him (before the ending of book 11 anyway), which if why he remains such a compelling draw for readers - and artists - all these years later.