Lucky Number Seven is a a brief interview with someone interesting in the public eye, chopped into easily consumed tidbits of data for your brain space.

In terms of pop culture, he's kind of hit all the right notes. He was a highly regarded member of the Entertainment Weekly staff, working at the highest levels of entertainment journalism. He's done a score of brilliant comics — Highwaymen, Genius (which won Top Cow's Pilot Season competition), Hero Complex, Monster Action Network and The Authority alongside his writing partner Adam Freeman.  He's found the time to writer for SyFy network's Blastr site and is a staff writer for the hit series Alphas, coming back for its second season on the SyFy Network, due in summer of 2012. 

Now he's doubled the number of Black writers in mainstream comics by joining Eric Wallace at DC Comics. Bernardin is taking over Static Shock after Milestone Media veteran John Rozum leaves.

He graced us with his words for a whimsical Lucky Number Seven interview that goes a little something like this …

Komplicated: You're taking on writing the adventures of a pop-culture savvy superpowered teenager who's been a favorite in comics and in animation. How do you get into the right mental space to write his dialogue, and how do you change that around to write the rest of the cast?

Marc Bernardin:A teenager is just an adult who hasn't made as many mistakes. The error many writers make when writing kids or teens is that they assume the adolescent brain is somehow different from the adult brain. All young characters lack is a sense of perspective, but they respond to insult, to love, to hate, to frustrations, to joy, just as we do.

K: Who, exactly, put the "bomp" in the "bomp de bomp de bomp?"

M: Pretty sure it was Alexandre Dumas. Or Clyde Stubblefield.

K:At any given time, you're probably working on a variety of things, given that you write for websites, your own materials, comics and Alphas. How do you manage the time and keep from crossing the streams?

M: I'd be lying if I said it doesn't get harder and harder as time goes on. I tend to play fireman: put out whichever fire is roaring the loudest. Sometimes, it does get me into a little bit of trouble, but nothing I haven't been able to work my way out of. I'm pretty proud of the fact that I haven't missed a deadline yet. Granted, I've worked my share of all-nighters–and I can't bounce back from those like I used to be able to 20 years ago–but I'm ahead of the curve. For now.

K:If you could get a lifetime supply of your favorite dessert with no dietary or health consequences, would you spend a week strapped to your writing pal Adam Freeman?

M: I've spent a week in a car with Adam; when we were young men, taking a pre-wedding bachelor's road trip across America. A car moving at 65 mph is as good as a strap–no escape for anyone. And we get along famously … but, oddly enough, we work together better when we're apart.

K: With you taking on Static Shock, there are two Black people writing for the major publishers, both at DC, both on books with Black male leads. Does this fact work its way into your writing, hoping to keep the streak going for more than financial and creative reasons?

M: No. My job is to write the best book I possibly can. That wouldn't change if there were 50 black writers working on monthly books. I will, however, admit to thinking back on that old Chris Rock bit, about how he lives in a very wealthy part of New Jersey, with a roster of famous black athletes and musicians as neighbors. And the dude who lives next door is a dentist. Not the greatest dentist in the world…just a dentist. The black people in that hood have to be the best at their jobs to move in, while the white guy just needs to have a job.

K: You likely can't spoil much about the next season of Alphas, but can you tell us anything to expect?

M: There's not much I can spill — the future changes every day — but one thing is for sure: The center will not hold.

K: Same question about your upcoming run on Static Shock — what can you tell us that we wouldn't have seen on another site?

M: Just that I'm figuring it out a bit as I go. Much like a teenager. It's going to be messy and thrilling and awkward. I swear, at least once an issue, some fool's gonna get shocked.

Marc Bernardin's run on Static Shock begins in March with issue #7.

[Source: Marc Bernardin]