Despite the weight of the world’s gaze, JackSepticEye remains an internet darling, avid philanthropist, and passionate creator at his core. The Youtube star, following a jam-packed NYCC schedule, took a moment to open up with ComicsBeat.
AKA Seán William McLoughlin, the Irish YouTube star has amassed more than 30 million followers on his YouTube channel where he coves gaming, comedy and life in general. In 2024 he joined the world of comics with The Somewhat Incredible Jackie Boy-Man, part of Bad Egg’s ALTRVERSE, created by JackSepticEye and written by James Asmus with art by Megan Huang.
In the wake of his first foray into comics, dive into the mind of a man that has shared so much and seeks to tell unique stories.
MEGAN FABBRI: You’re very open about being from a quieter area. What was it like to go from a small town lad to one of the most famous modern day Irishmen? How did it feel to suddenly blow up in the public eye? Is there anything you wish you knew early on?
JACKSEPTICEYE: I started in 2012. About a year and a half later I started becoming the Jacksepticeye everybody knows today. I started my channel because I was lonely and I wanted to find more people who were into video games like I was. So I found all these people online, and it’s hard not to get a bit attached to them.
The thing about doing this stuff is that I can do it all day, every day. It’ll still never be enough. Doing YouTube all day every day and grinding yourself into dust isn’t healthy. If your happiness is based on external factors like that, then you’ll never truly be consistently happy. Trying to find that inner peace was really important to me now.
FABBRI: Why was Bloodborne your first tattoo? I have the “Bold Hunter’s Mark” and laughed when learning you do as well. There’s many of symbols in FromSoftware‘s PlayStation-exclusive. I have my reasons, what were yours? What does it mean to you?
JACKSEPTICEYE: Bloodborne is one of my favorite games ever. When I saw the symbol it really stood out for me. I thought about getting a tattoo for the longest time, and finally did it. I think it’s a great tattoo because while the Blood Hunter’s Mark and the game mean a lot to me, when you look at it, even if you don’t know Bloodborne, you can still look at the tattoo and think it’s a cool design.
This was just my first one. I have more now.
FABBRI: Burnout. You started out with uploading twice a day, 7 days a week, for 5 years straight. So you’ve taken a step back, had a hiatus or two, even talked about inevitable retirement from YouTube. Besides taking breaks, what do you do to stave off or recover from burnout?
JACKSEPTICEYE: It’s really important to do things that you love, and that excite you. Taking a break is one way to maintain balance and try to steer clear from burnout, but I also like working on other things. I have more stuff going on now outside of my channel that brings me joy.
I’ve had Top of The Mornin’ Coffee for a while – because I like coffee and realized it would be cool to have my own brand. But, it’s grown so much. When I was in New York for Comic Con, I got to see it in a store. That’s crazy.
And Comic Con was my first comic book convention ever. Launching ALTRVERSE was great last year, but this year we did panels and signings, and I got to talk to fans about the characters and they were really excited.
I want to keep making things, I did a podcast, but I want to do more long form storytelling in that format and more games. And books, and comic books too.
FABBRI: For those unfamiliar with ALTRVERSE and Bad Egg Publishing: What you want people to take away from these comics? What’s the heart of this for YOU?
JACKSEPTICEYE: I had these characters on my channel for the last few years. And the universe started building itself. It started with short films. Then a game. Comic books have always been really cool. But Marvin and Jackie fit comic book tropes, so ALTRVERSE offered that chance to tell their stories in this perfect medium for it.
I’m not a writer or an artist, so we worked with some great people, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. We even had cosplayers at New York Comic Con, so we must be doing something right!
FABBRI: What kind of content do you consume for pleasure? We are what we eat, it’s great to think it over as a creative. What do YOU look for in a story? Do you have any characters you identify with?
JACKSEPTICEYE: I definitely want to read and play things that I connect with. In terms of games, outside of Bloodborne and Shadow of the Colossus, I love Alan Wake. I even started drinking coffee because of it. Sam Lake is a genius.
My favorite manga is Berserk. I feel like anyone who’s read Berserk, it was at the top of their list. I had the massive Dark Horse book for a while, and when I started it, I just blasted through it. Now, the manga really means a lot to me. I have a Behelit tattoo.
FABBRI: You’ve said before, in reference to retiring from YouTube, that you want to write a book and produce animations. What genres are you most attracted to? What do you want to bring TO the stories you’ll tell?
JACKSEPTICEYE: I said then that I want to do other creatively fulfilling things. I want to produce stuff. I want to make animated shows of games I’m big into. I want to make more games. We shared a trailer for something new at New York Comic Con. I’ll keep doing things like with Jackie Boy and Marvin in comics. And yes, I also want to write a book, like a fiction book, not something all about me.
In the end, I want to keep doing my own projects and my own character.
Fulfillment and purpose are innately human cravings; something many of us find ourselves chasing at one point or another in our lives. Following this interview, the Irish youtuber would publicly share his Autism diagnosis, taking the opportunity to educate his audience about the condition, estimated to be shared by 1 of 36 people, myself included. At heights unseen by his predecessors and most contemporaries, Seán McLoughlin is sure to give his all to anything he does next.
At the time of publication, Jacksepticeye’s annual charity event, Thankmas 2024, has raised over $3.4 million dollars in support of both the nonprofit Crisis Text Line and the UK/Ireland-based Samaritans charity origination. Visit Thankmas.tiltify.com for more details.
