Louis C.K. is the conquering hero of stand-up comedy and the star-writer-director of his own cable series on FX, Louie, that has warped the boundaries of traditional comedy and storytelling, setting him above and apart from his jokester colleagues. But his high visibility and reigning status have made him more exposed to criticism and the prairie fires of controversy that rage across the Internet. Are his artistic ambition, brooding presence, and grappling depictions of sex on Louie becoming his undoing? James Wolcott, a Vanity Fair columnist and the 2014 winner of the PEN Prize in the "Art of the Essay," dives into the deep end of the murky pool to investigate. Cover design by Adil Dara