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.

 

Green Arrow: Reunion Tour

In a 1992, the DC Comics superhero protects the last member of the Electric Unicorns, a Seattle band from the 1970s that rivaled the Beatles and whose other members had been murdered.

Green Arrow: Home is the Hunter

In 1991, the bow-and-arrow carrying superhero must thwart a terrorist attack on Seattle’s Space Needle while partner Black Canary is one of several hostages trapped inside the local landmark.

Devolution: When Sasquatch Attack

Author Max Brooks explores the tragic events in a small, isolated community when a volcanic eruption displaces a family of Sasquatch, resulting in a kill-or-be-killed struggle for survival.

Joe Letteri: From Pittsburgh to Middle-earth

The Aliquippa native helped destroy a Klingon moon and brought dinosaurs to life in Jurassic Park before joining Weta Digital and working on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.

1964 New York Comicon

The first comic book convention featured the one-and-only con appearance by legendary artist Steve Ditko and set the stage for similar events across the country, including in San Diego.

The Greeks: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great

The traveling exhibit that premiered in 2014 featured rarely seen artifacts and traced the 5,000 year history of the Ancient Greeks, who one could argue were the original Ancient Geeks.

Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy

The 2008 exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art showcased costumes from comic book superheroes alongside contemporary fashion designs and highlighted their similarities.

The Games We Played

After a full-scale exhibit in 2002, the New-York Historical Society began rotating its collection of original board games from the late 1800s, making them an ongoing feature at the museum.

Charles Simonyi Space Gallery

The standalone gallery adjacent to the Museum of Flight in Seattle contains the Full Fuselage Trainer, a wingless Space Shuttle mockup that served as a training facility for astronauts.

Muggles for Harry Potter

Efforts to ban Harry Potter books in the early twenty-first century was met with opposition from Muggles for Harry Potter, a collection of students and adults united against censorship.

A Journey to Middle-earth

A few months before the release of the first film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, an exhibit of props, costumes, paintings and concept art from the movie went on display in Toronto, Canada.

The Force Is With Our People

The Star Wars-themed exhibit premiered in October 2019 at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff and showcased Native American art influenced by the epic saga of George Lucas.