Anthony Letizia

Anthony Letizia has been many things through the years, including an accountant, journalist, and playwright. From June 2014 to May 2019, he served on the board – as well as treasurer – of the ToonSeum, a nonprofit museum of the cartoon and comic arts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While there, Letizia curated two exhibits, “To Boldly Go: The Graphic Art of Star Trek” (October 2016 to January 2017) and “Popology: An Exhibit of Pop Culture and Comics” (September 2017 to November 2017), as well as co-curated “Wonder Woman: Visions” (November 2017 to February 2018).

After a decades-long hiatus, Anthony Letizia completed his M.A. in History at Duquesne University in December 2024. He has used his history background to make a number of presentations in recent years on the ways that popular culture intersects with the real world. The list includes: “Superheroes Battle Pollution on the First Earth Day” poster presentation as part of the Comics Arts Conference at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024; “DC Comics and August 1986” at the Popular Culture Association Conference in Chicago in March 2024; and “Green Arrow as Social Justice Warrior” as part of the Comics Arts Conference at WonderCon in Anaheim in March 2023. He also organized/moderated a panel at the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle in August 2022 entitled “A Green Arrow History of Seattle” and made a brief “Marvel Comics History of the 1960s” presentation at the virtual Popular Culture Association conference in April 2022.

Although still an accountant by day, at night Anthony Letizia is a strong proponent and true believer in the power of Geek Culture. He can be reached at anthony@geekfrontiers.com.

 

Marvel’s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N.

The exhibit premiered at New York’s Discovery Times Square in 2014 and allowed fans of the Marvel Universe to become Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. while learning the science of superheroes.

Cloudy with a Chance of Pickles

The follow-up to Judi Barrett’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs follows the city of Chewandswallow as it ships its excess food around the world, including pickles to Pittsburgh.

Out of This World! Jewelry in the Space Age

A 2015 exhibit at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh contained a collection of jewelry that paid homage to the humanity’s fascination with the stars and spanned centuries.

Jack Kerouac and the Pittsburgh Plymouths

Many cross-country travelers have passed through Pittsburgh, including Beat writer Jack Kerouac, who featured the city in a fantasy baseball league in which he served as team manager.

Bill Cardille and Chiller Theater

The late-night horror movie showcase was a Saturday night staple in the Steel City for twenty years, airing from 1963 until 1983, thanks in no small part to host Bill “Chilly Billy” Cardille.

The Three Little Pigsburghers

In 2014, Pittsburgh cartoonist Joe Wos created a unique interpretation of the classic Three Little Pigs fairy tale, written in Pittsburghese and filled with numerous references to the Steel City.

Emerald City Comicon

The Seattle-based comic book convention has grown from 2,500 attendees at a one-day event in 2003 to tens-of-thousands converging annually and a reputation as one of the best in the country.

Salt Lake City, Cosplay, and Charity

Members of various Utah-based fanclubs discussed how they combine their love for cosplay with charity as part of the “Cosplayers and Charity” panel at the 2015 Salt Lake FanX.

Star Wars: Hunt for the Holocron

The Pittsburgh-made fan film about two brother caught between a Jedi and Sith took writer/director Martin Spitznagel ten years to complete and made its Steel City debut in April 2013.

The Flying Objects of Salt Lake City

The ongoing public art exhibition premiered in 2005 and features a sculptured assortment of astronauts, birds, planes, jet-packing cows, and flying saucers hovering over the Utah capital.

Geeks Who Drink: A Nationwide Pub Quiz

The weekly pub quiz and trivia night competition started in Denver in 2006 and has grown to include cities and states throughout the country in the years since, as well as charity events.

Trek in the Park

Scripts from Star Trek: The Original Series have been used for outdoor theater productions in Portland, Oregon, much like Shakespeare in the Park performances around the country.