Cartoonist Ġorġ Mallia draws his last smile at 68

Cartoonist and university lecturer Ġorġ Mallia, best known for his infectious smile, has died aged 68 on Wednesday morning.

Mallia was head of the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Malta, having also pioneered the annual student magazine The Scream in the 1990s.

He was a former chair of the National Book Council and an author of children’s books, which he also illustrated.

His books include Ktieb ix-Xwejjaħ, published in 1987, and Avventura taħt l-Art, first published in English in 1989 and adapted to Maltese in 1993. He also produced the Pullu series for very young children. Two years ago, he published L-Istejjer tal-Professur Għasfur.

But Mallia also wrote and illustrated books for adults, including Mitt Ruħ in 2020.

Gorg Mallia was a cartoonist, academic and author (Photo: Gorg Mallia/Facebook)

Ominously, on 6 August, in a Facebook post Mallia posted a caricature that was to accompany a book he started writing 40 years ago and was only completing now. He ended his post with the words: “Will I ever see it finished? I hope…”

He may not have seen the end of this particular work but Mallia’s legacy lives on in the hundreds of cartoon strips he published every week in The Sunday Times of Malta and the books he wrote and illustrated.

Over recent years, Mallia made it a habit to produce and publish on his Facebook page cartoons of famous and not so famous people who would pass away, the last being that of Norman Hamilton last week.

For some time, Mallia also served as a judge for the journalism awards given by the Institute of Maltese Journalists and used satire to put his rule of law activism on display, particularly in the aftermath of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder.

In an interview with MaltaToday in January 2020, Mallia was unequivocal about the role of satire in times of social and political upheaval. “I would hazard to say that satirical cartoons’ role is journalistic, in the sense that it manifests the opinion of a part of society, while instigating resentment in that part that disowns the sentiments being communicated,” he said, adding that he was “firing with both barrels” at what he called an unprecedented and unacceptable situation brought about by corruption, cronyism and abuse of power at the highest political level.

Mallia was married three times. Six years ago he openly shared his grief about the collapse of his second marriage that left him in a bad place. But Mallia found love again and married for a third time just two months ago in a private ceremony.

He leaves to mourn him his wife Shirley, two children and the hundreds of students whom he mentored at the university.

MaltaToday offers its condolences to Mallia’s family and friends.

Meanwhile, tributes have started pouring in. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said Ġorġ Mallia had become part of the country's fabric. "Through his cartoons, his writing, his teaching and his unmistakable sense of humour, he made generations of Maltese smile, think and sometimes see ourselves a little differently," Metsola wrote in a Facebook post. "His pen had a way of saying a lot with very little. Malta and Gozo will be poorer without his wit, his creativity and his voice."

Fellow academic and leader of Momentum Party Arnold Cassola described Mallia as "a bustling personality, a gentle person, a generous heart and a gifted artist".

The Nationalist Party also paid tribute to Mallia's memory. "His passing is a loss to the arts, culture and communications sectors in our country. Through his creativity, knowledge and work, Ġorġ Mallia touched the lives of generations and leaves behind a legacy that will continue to be remembered."

The PN noted that Mallia was the Opposition's nominee as a member of the Nominations Committee for Ġieħ ir-Repubblika, the country's highest honour awarded by the President of the Republic every year.

The Institute of Maltese Journalists (IĠM) said it was saddened by the loss of Ġorġ Mallia and expressed its condolences to his wife, family, friends and colleagues. "Mallia spent decades shaping Maltese media and communications as a professor and head of the University of Malta's media department. He mentored hundreds of students over the years and was a familiar face in Maltese newsrooms, best known for his socio-political comic strips - his most recent strip appearing in print last Sunday."