Welcome to Black Heart, an original web comic made by me, Alicia Muhm.  I’ve been working on this particular story and its characters for over two years now, and I felt like it was time that it deserved its own web site.

Black Heart is a comic about a young prince trying to discover his true origins all the while in pursuit of his ultimate dream– to live a normal life with his childhood friend.  Of course, this isn’t as easy as it sounds, considering the circumstances.  The prince’s future engagement has been declared by his late father, a kingdom is in need of a new king and the prince’s blood has been awakened to an ancient curse…

Concept character sketches are uploaded to the site.  The comic is a work in progress, but there will be weekly updates of one or two pages at a time.

Thanks for reading!  Please remember to check back for updates!

Blaine

“Maybe I’ll never be good at using a sword.”

Age: 18

Height/Weight: 5′11″ / 150 lbs.

Likes: Playing the piano, dogs, sunny days, Illona

Dislikes: Responsibilities, liars, spicy food, Mae

Physical Description: Blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, lean but relatively physically fit.

Background: Blaine has grown up under strict training so that he may become the next great king of Parmecia. His father betrothed him to Princess Mae of Ullengard when he was young, but Blaine desires a life as a commoner with the right to choose who he marries. Even though he won’t admit it to anyone, he’s had feelings for the girl who works at the stables for years now. Blaine often second guesses himself and always feels pretty insecure. Despite his lack of courage, he is caring and compassionate with a good sense of what is right and wrong.

Aidan

“…Don’t follow me.”

Age: 97

Height/Weight: 6′1″ / 180 lbs.

Likes: Power, being right

Dislikes: Sunlight, stupid people, being held back, losing

Physical Description: Black hair, red eyes, dark skin, strong physique.

Background: Though Aidan’s past still remains somewhat a mystery, it is clear that he has had some issues concerning his family. He seems to be a drifter now, ultimately searching for a way to obtain more power. He isn’t interested in making friends or helping anyone. Even though Aidan may seem heartless most of the time, in reality, he is very loyal to the people he admires.

Illona

“The prince is a spoiled pampered baby brat!”

Age: 18

Height/Weight: 5′9″ / 120 lbs.

Likes: Food (mostly sweets), horses, Blaine

Dislikes: Bossy people, the cold, being alone, Aidan

Physical Description: Auburn hair, hazel eyes, somewhat tan skin, average physique.

Background: Illona was orphaned when she was very young. Her brother has raised her and together, the two work in the royal stables for an honest living. Illona respects her brother more than anyone. She and Blaine grew up together and played often, though she has always harbored romantic feelings for him. Illona is tough, not always being exactly considerate in many instances, but she is also caring and helpful. She has a sort of “tom boy” attitude and she usually doesn’t take no for an answer.

Kendrick

“I won’t stop you. I’m coming with you.”

Age: 29

Height/Weight: 7′1″ / 350 lbs.

Likes: Honesty, songbirds

Dislikes: Violence

Physical Description: Auburn hair, brown eyes, somewhat tan skin, very muscular and giant-sized build.

Background: Kendrick and his sister, Illona, were orphaned when they were young. Only he remembers exactly how they died, and he refused to enclose all of the exact details to his younger sibling. All the while working at the royal stables, he has raised Illona with the best intentions. Kendrick is a very skilled blacksmith like his father. He is gentle, despite his enormous size, and he tries to look at things from an optimistic point of view.

Ben

“Ooh, I know! I know! Pick me! Pick me!!”

Age: 14

Height/Weight: 5′2″ / 90 lbs.

Likes: Almost everything (literally), especially likes playing music and hearing gossip

Dislikes: War, being alone

Physical Description: Red hair, silver eyes, fair skin, somewhat skinny.

Background: Little is known about Ben’s background. He is a traveling bard who happens to get rescued by Blaine and believes that he needs to stay around so that he can some day return the favor (or because he is desperate to make friends). Ben is energetic and very eager to please. He is somewhat slow to catch on to things, but he is ruthlessly loyal to his friends and he is genuinely trying his best to help others.

Isaac

“Don’t worry about being a good king, Blaine. I know you will be.”

Age: 41

Height/Weight: 6′1″ / 180 lbs.

Likes: Practicing swordplay/archery, ale, sexy women

Dislikes: Profanity, being ordered to do anything against his personal beliefs

Physical Description: Blue hair, blue eyes, somewhat tan skin, muscular build.

Background: Isaac came from a farming family and practiced his entire life to become a great knight. He has a good reputation of being loyal to the king and his country. Occasionally, he uses his popularity to get what he wants. He is somewhat of a father figure to Blaine, more so than the king himself. Isaac treasures qualities such as bravery and honesty, but sometimes lacks the bravery himself to be completely honest.

???

“You don’t need to know. You’ll be dead soon anyway.”

Age: ???

Height/Weight: ??? / ??? lbs.

Likes: Bloodshed

Dislikes: Blaine

Physical Description: ???

Background: This mysterious character has been seemingly spying on Blaine for who knows exactly how long.  He is extremely stealthy, however, as only Isaac has managed to detect him.  Because he hasn’t taken any action and because Isaac can’t be entirely sure that he’s even seen him in the first place, there have been no extra security measures taken yet.  Who is this man in the helmet and what are his true intentions?

Nora

“I will never forgive you!”

Age: ???

Height/Weight: 5′10″ / 130 lbs.

Likes: When things go according to plan

Dislikes: Isaac, the king

Physical Description: Blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, average build.

Background: Nora is a suspicious maid who had just recently started working at the castle. Isaac seems to be exceptionally cautious around her, but no one knows for sure what her specific motives are.  She has a tendency to disappear often and always seems to be lurking where maids aren’t usually allowed.  Is there truly a conspiracy against the royal family?

Mae

“You are to refer to me as ‘Princess Mae’ or ‘Your Highness’.”

Age: 22

Height/Weight: 5′7″ / 100 lbs.

Likes: Herself

Dislikes: Ugly things, being told she can’t have her way, dirt

Physical Description: Black hair, green eyes, fair skin, doll-like physique.

Background: Princess Mae was betrothed to Blaine when they were both very young. At the time, she refused to marry him because he was shorter than she was (considering he is four years younger than she is). Once he had grown up, however, she deemed his appearance satisfactory enough and agreed to marry. Mae has always gotten what she wanted and therefore is completely spoiled. She speaks very frankly and Blaine considers her rude and strange. So does everyone else, of course, but no one dares tell her how they truly feel.

Some additional concept art for the story.  I’ll just leave this here.

Blaine and Illona as kids.

Blaine, sixteen years old.