Comixology Originals Announces Census, a Horror Comedy Comic Book Series About Finding the Job of a Lifetime Co-Written By Writer, Producer and Podcaster Marc Bernardin and Writer, Producer and Director Adam Freeman with art by Sebastián Piriz
Issue #1 Debuts September 13th
Comixology Originals announces Census, a new 5-issue horror comedy comic book series about accounting for all the supernatural beings living in New York City co-written by Eisner award-nominated writer, TV producer and podcaster Marc Bernardin (Star Trek: Picard, Batman: Caped Crusader, Carnival Row, Castle Rock, Masters of the Universe: Revelations, Alphas, Fatman Beyond, Adora and the Distance, Genius, The Highwaymen) and writer, TV producer and director Adam Freeman (Gene Simmons Family Jewels, The Chelsea Handler Show, X-Men Origins: Nightcrawler, The Authority, Genius, The Highwaymen) with art and colors by Sebastián Piriz, lettering by Bernardo Brice and edits by Sarah Litt. Census #1 arrives September 13, 2022 from Amazon’s Comixology Originals exclusive digital content line.
In his followup to the Eisner award-nominated fantasy original graphic novel Adora and The Distance, Bernardin reunites with frequent collaborator Freeman for a horror comedy series that takes “working for the man” to a new level.
“I was born in New York City, and it always feels like a place that has more doors than people. And behind each of those doors is someone’s story,” says Bernardin. “Many of those stories are mundane and average, I’m sure, but others might be wild and magical and dangerous. As New Yorkers, Adam and I figured this was the perfect canvas to place a coming-of-age tale about a pathetically apathetic slacker who learns a bit about the real world and his place in it.”
Freeman added, “We love turning genres on their heads, so it was a blast to bring our sense of humor to the supernatural and mythological sandbox – all set within the diverse cultures and boroughs of our native New York City.”
Liam Malone is a poly-sci major with a minor in communications who’s searching for his first real job. While riding the bus in NYC he sees a sign that says “Good pay, flexible hours, no experience necessary” so he heads on over for an interview and gets a job working for the Census Bureau. But he quickly learns this is no ordinary Census Bureau, it’s the Otherworld Census Bureau and he’s got to count and register all of the demons, djinn, changelings, and other supernatural beings living in New York.
In Census, Liam embarks on a terrifying yet humorous adventure as he goes door to door and learns that to get the job of a lifetime, sometimes you have to sell your soul. This job might just cost him his life.
“I had a great time bringing Marc and Adam’s super detailed New York to life and populating it with monsters and creatures from all around the world,” says artist Piriz. “Lots of the pages were like a gift from the writers encouraging me to have fun. I can’t wait for readers to see it.”
“Census brings a hilarious new spin to the monsters, mayhem, and mundanity of office life in New York City,” says Bryce Gold, Comixology Originals Lead. “It’s such a pleasure to continue to work with Marc and Bernardo on their new series with Comixology Originals, and a pleasure welcoming amazing fresh faces to the creative crew with Adam, Sebastián, and Sarah.”
About the Creators:
Marc Bernardin is a WGA Award-winning television writer-producer who has worked on Star Trek: Picard, Batman: Caped Crusader, The Continental, Carnival Row, Treadstone, Castle Rock, Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina, Masters of the Universe: Revelations, and Alphas. In an earlier life, he was a journalist for the Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Playboy, and Entertainment Weekly. In comics, he’s an Eisner-nominated writer of Adora and the Distance, Peter Parker: The Amazing Shutterbug, Genius, The Highwaymen, and Monster Attack Network. And he co-hosts the Fatman Beyond pop-culture podcast with Kevin Smith.
Adam Freeman is a multi-faceted producer/director/writer with over 25 years of experience in unscripted and scripted television including such projects as Total Request Live, Hatfields & McCoys, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, The Chelsea Handler Show and Wild n’ Out with Nick Cannon. As a comic book writer his projects include X-Men Origins: Nightcrawler, Dark X-Men, The Authority, The Highwaymen, Monster Attack Network, Hero Complex, Nightwatchman and the critically acclaimed Genius, among others. An accomplished stand-up comedian, Adam performs regularly at clubs in Los Angeles, including the World Famous Comedy Store, and nationwide at The Laugh Factory franchises and others.
Sebastián Piriz is an Artist from Buenos Aires with more than 10 years of experience working mostly for indie publishers. His recent works are Disaster Inc. (Aftershock) Canto and the City of Giants (IDW) and We Ride Titans (Vault). He co-created Black Beacon with Ryan K. Lindsay for Heavy Metal magazine, and he’s done covers for titles like Red Sonja, Stranger Things and Transformers.