For a demon, falling in love can be a real nightmare.

Ashly & Irene contributed a prize-winning entry to Rising Stars of Manga Volume 3, and we were all really excited to get them a contract. However, they first gave us a fairly heavily fantasy-influenced story, and at that point, we had quite a few similar works lined up, so we asked them for more of a high school romance, with some supernatural elements thrown in. They came back with Mark of the Succubus, and blew us all away. Irene's art is so incredibly stylish and unique (and so perfect for this story!), and Ash has a great sense of storytelling and dialogue. I literally gasped when I first saw chapter 1 in its completed form, and things have only gotten better from there. This story of a reluctant succubus-in-training who makes the mistake of her life when she falls for her first intended victim has humor, drama, romance and a hell of a lot of style!

~Lillian Diaz-Przybyl, Editor

Maeve, a succubus-in-training, is sent to the human world by her mentor, Veril, to learn how to blend in and hone her skills of seduction. The rules of the Demon World are complicated and archaic though, and one of them, "Don't fall in love with your target," looks like it might be a little too easy for Maeve to break, especially after she meets Aiden, a smart but unmotivated student at her new high school.

Maeve discovers the joys of chicken-onion soup, art class, horror movies and living among humans, and soon she's more reluctant to fulfill her task than ever. Unfortunately for her, there's also something malevolent afoot in Erebus, the demon world, and Maeve is unwittingly right at the center of it.

Between Aiden's witchy girlfriend, his nutty best friend, biology class, and Demon World conspiracies, Maeve is going to be lucky to make it out of high school alive.

Irene: I was born on August 26, 1982 in the Philippines, lived there until I was 12, then moved with my family to Lompoc, California. Let's just skip to high school—that's when all the fun stuff happened. At Cabrillo High School, I met Ashly Raiti...although she didn't even talk to me until senior year because she claimed I was "scary." After graduation, Ash and I started a webcomic called The Castings. We collaborated on the plot, I drew, and she wrote the dialogue. Someone on the Castings forum brought up the Rising Stars of Manga contest and Ash and I decided to give it a shot and enter. We ended up as runners-up for RSOM Vol. 3 with our story "Life Remains". I met with a few TOKYOPOP editors at Anime Expo 2004 and San Diego Comic-Con 2004 with my work, and the rest is history!

Ashly: I guess I've had a thing for written works ever since I was little. I remember being seven years old, running around with those gigantic-ruled handwriting practice sheets, trying to get people to read my stories. By ten, I'd settled into a steady diet of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, and my writing showed it; I loved Douglas Adams and Stephen King and waded through the 1000-plus pages of it unfazed. When my sister hit high school, six years before I did, I ended up reading most of her assignments for lit class—and loving them! Ah...to be honest, I'm not sure what else needs saying. I'm a Scorpio, a boar, blood-type unknown; fond of fantasy novels, RPGs and tea. I'm working part-time and attending UCSB; hopefully, I'll have a BA in Japanese soon!

Maeve:
Intent and studious, but a little absentminded, Maeve tends to stand out among demons and humans alike. Her quirky habits mark her as someone just learning the ways of a culture, and her utter inability to lie convincingly adds to the peculiar image she projects. Despite her training, she often forgets what she's meant to be doing among the humans and loses herself in the fun of the moment.

Aiden Landis:
Indecisive, mild-tempered, and a bit withdrawn, Aiden rarely protests when others make his decisions for him, drifting along in whatever direction he's pushed with no real enthusiasm. All he really wants to do is to play guitar, but only his best friend knows he's good at it; instead, he puts little effort into things he doesn't truly care about, avoiding conflict at the expense of his own dreams.

Veril:
For most, Veril is a walking paradox. He has no qualms about seducing and killing humans, blackmailing his superiors, or playing dirty to get his own way. At the same time, however, he has a strong sense of justice and is fiercely loyal to those very few that are close to him. When his peculiar sense of humor is added to the mix, the incubus often comes across as a puzzle that's nearly impossible to figure out.

Devin Wilshire:
Loud and quite purposefully obnoxious to anyone he doesn't like, Devin is considered something of an oddball even by those closest to him. His love of science fiction and conspiracy theories has left more than one person wondering whether his somewhat far-fetched personal conjectures are real or just in fun.

Sandra:
Haughty, shallow, and more than a little selfish, Sandra is one of the popular girls at school... and she loves it. For her, school is less a place for learning and more a place for social jockeying, and anyone that she thinks can help her climb the proverbial ladder is likely to get used in the name of her personal aspirations.

Junael:
Somewhat reserved, Junael is the sort that prefers to handle things behind the scenes. He's meticulously neat and pays close attention to detail; usually, he knows more about any given situation than he lets on. Though his work requires him to make sure that the Rules are being followed, he's found that knowing them well enough allows them to be bent when the time calls for it.

Sylne:
Charming, intelligent, and collected, there isn't much about Sylne not to like—on the surface, at least. Underneath, the woman's hand is always in some sort of scheme, and she's willing to sacrifice even those closest to her in an effort to gain more power. She's two-faced and underhanded, two very good things for a succubus to be.