R.I.P. Maddie Blaustein

I was extremely saddened to learn of the passing of comics writer, prolific voice actress and friend Maddie Blaustein.





Maddie (born Adam Blaustein) might be the most recognizable transgender voice on the planet, from her roles as Meowth on Pokemon, and Solomon Moto on Yu-Gi-Oh, not to mention dozens of other anime and video games. She was also a writer for Milestone Comics, penning issues of Static and Hardware, as well as the limited series Deathwish.

Maddie once told me the story of how she was inspired to fully transition from male to female (and to come out to her co-workers as transgender) by an episode of Pokemon. In the episode "Go West, Young Meowth" her character travels to Hollywood to make it big. There, Meowth falls in love with another Meowth, who spurns his advances. He decides to learn how to speak and to stand upright in order to impress her - but she rejects him for being a "freak." Meowth was a human trapped in a Pokemon's body.

Maddie was an inspiration to people around the world - not just GLBT people, but anyone who felt like a little bit of an outcast.

She died in her sleep at the age of 48, after what's been called a "brief illness." She will be dearly missed by anyone who loved her work, whether they knew her name or not.