In the wake of sudden staff cuts at several Gannett papers last week, friends and co-workers of Steve Benson explained in no uncertain terms why he will be missed.

(1) Karina Bland recalled the caricatures Benson drew for each staffer when they left at the Arizona Republic.

The Steve Benson drawings you never saw and why they meant so much

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/karinabland/2019/01/27/steve-benson-drawings-did-you-never-saw/2683523002/

(2) Fellow Arizona cartoonist David Fitzsimmons laments the loss of a "master samurai"

Fitz: Arizona's finest cartoonist, Steve Benson, bites the dust

https://tucson.com/opinion/local/fitz-arizona-s-finest-cartoonist-steve-benson-bites-the-dust/article_8c4bd495-cdd3-5adf-b18c-0089450e6065.html

(3) Readers, including ex-Gov. Jan Brewer!, blast Benson's layoff

"Penny wise and pound foolish": Readers react to cartoonist Steve Benson's departure

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2019/01/25/cartoonist-steve-benson-layoff-reader-reaction/2676242002/

(4) And Comic Riffs reporter Michael Cavna weighs in on what this means for the industry.

Another cartoonist loses his job. This does not bode well for the future of newspaper cartooning.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/01/25/another-cartoonist-loses-his-job-this-does-not-bode-well-future-newspaper-cartooning/