Ġorġ Mallia, a Maltese communications academic, author, illustrator and cartoonist known for the socio-political comic strip One Family, died on Aug. 19, 2026, at 68, The Malta Independent reported.
Mallia began his public career as a short-story writer on BBC World Service in 1977. The following year, he started Mill-Ħsieb għall-Kelma, a radio program devoted to literary analysis.
After his early radio work, Mallia contributed cartoon strips to Il-Ħaddiema Żgħażagħ in 1980 and started Il-Familja Borg in 1988. In 1993, he began drawing One Family for The Sunday Times, where it ran through 2008.
While the strip was running, Mallia built a career in higher education. He began teaching communications at the University of Malta in 1996, became a lecturer in 2003 and a senior lecturer in 2008. He later headed the university’s Department of Media and Communications.
As chair of the National Book Council, Mallia commissioned a study of Maltese reading habits. The findings inspired a book of 200 very short stories intended to attract people who did not usually read.
His later work extended beyond newspaper cartooning. In 2020, Mallia presented his first solo art exhibition, Rhapsody-in-Pain, featuring digital paintings and ink drawings rooted in personal grief. He also created Żepp, a comic that initially addressed the COVID-19 pandemic before developing into socio-political satire. In 2024, Mallia added L-Istejjer tal-Professur Għasfur, which he both wrote and illustrated, to his body of work in Maltese children’s publishing.
