As part of Beat’s coverage of Mocca, we are interviewing team members, creators of artist Alley, and various artists participating in this year’s festival. I think, more than the friends I made at Mocca Fest, for me, he could start our creator interview: Caitlyn Du.
Caitlyn is an excellent writer and artist. She is a person who is now in SVA’s last year, someone I’ve interviewed in the past Flying children and Jialin’s World. She listed it again at Mocca Fest this year, which is amazing because her desk made me appeal to all of this from the beginning.
Check out her preview page in the interview below.
Christian Angeles: Who are you for those you don’t know?
Caitlin Du: Hello, my name is Caitlin Du. I am a Chinese cartoonist/illustrator living in New York. I describe my art as an “expired childhood” because my work has a naivety and a sense of humor even when dealing with difficult and frustrating topics.
You can check mine website Or via Instagram @phantalism
Angeles: What are you promoting next at this year’s Mocca Fest 2025?
of: I’m promoting comics! I will bring copies of “Jialin’s World” and “Fly Child” along with other magazines.
But most exciting is that I will bring a tone to the comic “Scavenger” (still a work title). The comic takes place on the alternative Earth that has just used up fossil fuels. This sudden change has led to a wave of technological advances for renewable energy and has opened up a new career path – Meteor Energy Practitioner. Although not everyone is happy about the change. The story tells the story of a protagonist named Yana who has to take risks over and over to find the shooting star. Her childhood friend Keli has been marking “adventure” for a long time.
I’m happy to show people the voyeurism of peeking art – all of which are handmade and done with ink and watercolor pieces. My fingers crossed, hoping I could find an agent/editor interested in publishing this story!
Angeles: Very good! OK, what’s next Your favorite things about Mocca Fest, and Are you happy to see something this year?
of: I’m always happy to see everyone’s booths set up. I think Mocca is not only fair, but an exhibition that shows every Illustrator’s personal brand.
And, you can meet numerous illustrators and comic creators from different fields! What do you mean, I met a cartoonist in New York Jeremy Nguyenunderground comic artist Gregory Bentonand illustrator Kelly Pringle (I have never seen them, but I really like their cat paintings) In the same place?
Angels: Great. Well, in the end, you think, why are indie comics so important now?
of: From the rapid growth of AI technology to the fact that people’s rights are taken away overnight. We are collectively anxious.
Painting comics are my channel to deal with a lot of my stress. I have drawn a lot of airy comics like “I wish my mom would love me” (I never showed her.) Even if the story is fictional, it gives me a channel to process my emotions. Sharing my comics has led me to introduce a lot of cool people and gave me a community.
In addition, the independent comics are derived from underground comics, which is a counterculture response to comics and censorship of the 1950s. The reason why underground comics are so revolutionary is that it gives marginalized voices – artists have the right to work, and heck comix can be made with a fax mechanism. With everything happening, the sounds heard are particularly important for people’s voices.
So keep painting!
Caitlyn Du Mocca Fest 2025 will be held on March 15 and 16 at Table 59! If you want to attend Mocca Fest 2025 in New York, click here.
