A man who was known throughout the D.C. area for his satirical comics was struck and killed by a car in Old Town Alexandria Friday.
Justin Benedict, 55, was crossing South Washington Street at the intersection of Wilkes Street about 4 p.m. when a car struck him, police said.
Justin Cascaden Benedict
1965 – November 20, 2020
Benedict volunteered as a cartoonist and editor for Street Sense and published a a blog called Vagrancy Comics. No public figure was safe from his fiery political and social satire.
Between drawing smiles from his fans, Benedict actively helped people struggling with addiction or in need of a home.
Justin’s handiwork is on display at his Vagrancy Comics website.
Update from the December 6 obituary:
His wife, Christine Axsmith knew the depth of Justin’s love for humanity, but especially the underdogs. Their couches were constantly occupied with homeless artists, writers, actors and other creative types down on their luck. Justin’s own creativity was boundless. A prolific writer, his work ranged from essays to his novel “Sober Nerds” to his comic strips on VagrancyComics on Blogspot. He video blogged irreverent puppet shows at Progressive Puppet Theater.
Very sad news.
He was Big League. Under different circumstances he would have been a syndicated cartoonist. What a loss to the creative community