Maki Kusumoto is a Japanese manga artist born on July 15, 1967 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. She began creating manga at the age of sixteen, making her professional debut in 1984 with a story published in Margaret, a popular shōjo manga magazine. Following a two-year hiatus from drawing to prepare for university entrance examinations, she went on to study philosophy at Ochanomizu Women's University in Tokyo, though she eventually left the university to dedicate more time to her manga career. She has cited her academic background in philosophy and the work of British illustrator Aubrey Beardsley as significant influences on her art. Kusumoto currently divides her time between London and Tokyo.

Kusumoto is best known for the manga series Kiss xxxx, which was serialized in five volumes from 1989 to 1991 by Shueisha. Her other notable original works include the two-volume series K no souretsu (The Funeral Procession of K) from 1994 to 1995, the one-shot T.V. eye from 1993, and Die tödliche Dolis, also known as Dolis, published in 1998. While much of her work has not been formally translated and published outside of Japan, Dolis has been released in French. Beyond her manga, Kusumoto also illustrated the cover of the Japanese rock band Zi:Kill's 1990 album Close Dance.

Her artistic identity is characterized by psychological dramas that explore themes of death, romance, and obsession, often featuring androgynous characters with willowy, long-limbed figures. Her visual style is noted for its minimalist aesthetics, abstraction, and darker themes, using delicate linework to portray characters struggling with their inner demons in everyday life. In an interview, Kusumoto has stated that she does not have a specific message she aims to convey, preferring to allow readers to form their own interpretations. While she often addresses death in her narratives, she approaches it as a natural part of daily life rather than a taboo subject. She has described Dolis as her darkest work, a story about a female protagonist named Mitsu whose extreme narcissism and inability to find solutions to her problems lead to self-destruction. Regarding her creative process, Kusumoto has said that she typically envisions key scenes first and builds the story around them, producing approximately eight pages per month while working alone.

Despite having a devoted following and a career spanning several decades, Kusumoto's work remains less known internationally, with limited official translations available. Her significance in the manga industry lies in her distinctive, avant-garde approach to storytelling and art, which stands apart from more conventional mainstream styles. There is no documented history of her original manga works being adapted into anime series.