Yuki Kaori

Angel Sanctuary by Yuki Kaori was one of the first scanlations my sister and I read, back in the days when manga were still not yet widely published in English. Its themes of heaven and hell, corrupt angels and ambiguous demons were gripping. The biggest draw for me though, was the dark gothic drawing style.

Angel Sanctuary is definitely one of the classics, but my favourite by Yuki-san is Count Cain, and Godchild, a series set in Victorian England about an aristocrat with an interest in poisons, who for some reason is always embroiled in murder mysteries and also happens to have a really dark family secret. How much more Gothic can you get? Oh yes, by referencing lots of creepy nursery rhymes and fairytales...

I'm sure it's no surprise that her catalog of work also includes stories about vampires, fairies, and possessed puppets.

Yuki-san, along with Chobits by CLAMP and Yazawa Ai's work, introduced me to the various Lolita styles. It definitely fed my partiality to full skirts, lace and ruffles...