Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Louis Southard of New York

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Louis Southard. Check out our conversation below.

Louis, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Everything!

Over the course of 2025, I’ve somewhat undergone a bit of a spiritual journey to achieve a healthier work / life balance. Earlier in the year, my mental health was at an all time low due to my life upending in very real ways. This unease was reflected in my output as I was sloppy and scattershot, and I think I tried to disguise my strife by distracting myself with work.

I will admit that my attitude towards the comics industry wasn’t helping me whilst in crisis. I do blame myself partly for this though. It seemed I got into a rut of making things for other people or crafting a perfect publishing pitch than making a story I genuinely cared about.

That’s why I decided to quit everything.

I literally quit my job writing comics and decided to focus on myself for a long while. I got a manual labor gig chopping trees down and digging holes. I made new friends and reconnected with older ones. One new friend in particular–shoutout to artist Sarah Price of the Rebel Rebel Gallery–really helped me in the midst of this funk. It took a lot of trying new things, putting myself in different situations, and learning to trust people again.

Good timing too because the comics industry has since welcomed me back with open arms. I got a job offer during this sabbatical that I simply couldn’t reject. Since then, I really feel an achieved level of inner peace and confidence in this era of me returning to the art life that I love so dearly.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Folks, brace yourself for the intro of a lifetime as you’re screen-to-screen with who some call “the creative genius of a generation!”

My name is Louis Southard and I’m a 26-year-old comic book writer with nearly a decade’s worth of experience. I’ve worked with many publishers and literally hundreds of artists, from industry legends to the next wave of talent. With newer titles like LAUGH RIOT or X-O MANOWAR currently under my belt, you may also know me from my past work on COMICS ARE DYING: THE COMIC, FLASH GORDON, MIDNIGHT WESTERN THEATRE, and a heckuva lot more.

In terms of what I do? Obviously, I daydream and tap away at a keyboard quite a bit! However, I also edit comics and prose, speak at schools and universities, meet with reader and peers on the comic convention circuit, and dream the biggest dreams ever conceived.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
To be perfectly candid, I was raised with such a poor self esteem as a child that I might as well have been made out of glass. There was so much frequent bullying, both at home and in school, that I grew up believing I was the ultimate outsider. God’s reject. This all led to feelings of worthlessness and that no one in the world could value me as a human being. It seemed to me that I was born imperfect and I carried that feeling for a massive chunk of my formative years.

That said, it also created a chip-in-my-shoulder that taught me a valuable life lesson at a young age.

“No one is coming to save me, so I might as well save myself.”

This desire to outgrow where I came from has always been very strong, so I’ve focused on making a life I can be proud of. Making a man I can stare back in the mirror and be proud of. I’ve messed up and fallen and made the wrong choices along this journey, but I believe in fixing what I can and correcting for next time. Just trying a little better as I go.

As a result, my relationships with others has strengthened tenfold as I root myself in assertive empathy. The world I’m building as I age is one centered around support, authenticity, and kindness. In that process, it’s neat to see the good in the world and niceness that can be shared within this found family of mine.

So, I no longer believe I’m as worthless as I was originally led to believe. I now see my own value and the impact of confidence one can gain by just trying to do the right thing for themself and for others…most of the time haha.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
The events of my personal life from birth to now could be its own series of books. I don’t look at the past fondly and the very foundation of my occupation hinges on the sheer power of escapism. What escaping has done for me and what I’ve seen it do for others? It’s a palpable energy. It’s the closest thing we have to real magic or even tapping into another human being’s soul. Primordial wizardry. It’s nutso.

So, when I am forced to recollect the past, there is this great sigh of relief with how different my modern life is compared to my youth. I’m no longer in a life-or-death situation. I’m no longer living in fear. I’m no longer tormented for the crime of existing. I just am. There’s been a great deal of therapy in between, but I love my life nowadays!

My point of all this is that the suffering has taught me that the everyday problems–especially those within the comics industry–are baby shit. There are minor inconveniences. People can be annoying or dirtbags. Life can feel like a lot. But, I wouldn’t trade any of it for old days. I think that’s definitely been a super power of mine. Enduring the normalcy of life and relishing it because it’s what I always dreamt of!

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
This is something I’ve been struggling a lot with lately. I think “Louis Southard the Writer” is a persona that has given me a mini identity crisis. When I’m at a convention or with peers, I do try to be friendly and enthusiastic. Confident and chipper. Keep that hospitality face on. Is that the real me though? Nope.

I think the real Louis is a lot less commercially friendly. Not in any controversial sense, but simply in attitude. The real Louis is a little quieter, more sardonic, a little more silly and wholesome and melancholy, and definitely cattier. This Louis isn’t a good professional public persona though. He’s a great way to make close friends and lovers, but he’s not a good salesman. He’s not a man of the people. That’s where the Writer comes in.

This is all an existential talk I have with myself from time-to-time, and I’m coming to accept both personas are real. Both are me. Everything good and bad they do are my own. It only gets confusing sometimes. But, hey! That’s life!

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
When I was a teenager, I undertook various methods to pursue careers in the press, the law, and in politics. I very much wanted a job that could lead to consistent work, pay, and a certain level of prestige. There was even a brief mentorship with a historic politician I’m not at liberty to say. We spent a day together and he blurted out at some point, “I can tell your heart isn’t in this. What is it that you want to do?”

I then told him I wanted to be a writer and he smiled. The next thing he revealed was, “I started out as a writer too. My advice is to do what you want first and then come back to this when you’re done. It’ll always be here waiting for you.”

That was one of the key moments of my life to inspire me to follow my dreams. I’ve loved writing ever since I was a little boy. Hours and hours spent making my own original stories or (I’m a little ashamed to admit) even fanfics. It’s what I love. It’s my passion. It’s what I feel like I was put on this planet to do.

I’ll cap this off with a short story. At a small party, a friend of a friend and I were getting wine drunk. She turned to me and said, “I can see your purpose. In every shape and form, you’re the storyteller. That’s who you are. The storyteller.”

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