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.

In addition to writing for Geek Frontiers and Remixing History, Letizia is working on a book that ties together the fictional narratives from the Marvel Comics Universe of the 1960s and the factual events of the decade, similar to the articles that serve as the backbone of Remixing History but in a longer and more detailed format.

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.

Spider-Woman: Breakout at Alcatraz

In 2024, Spider-Woman and a new teenage team of superheroes attempt to rescue Angar the Screamer from Alcatraz Island, which once served as an escape-proof prison for notorious criminals.

Batman: The Rodney King Tape

One year after four Los Angeles police officers were found “not guilty” in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, the murder of an African American by Gotham City police is also videotaped.

Comics in the Native American Classroom

A professor at Duke University spent ten years collecting Native American-created comic books, then crafted a college course on Native American history that uses them as source material.

Green Arrow: Toxic Revenge

The Emerald Archer investigates a series of strange murders tied to a chemical company and housing community that shares similarities with toxic contamination in Afton, North Carolina.

The Incredible Hulk: In the Shadow of AIDS

AIDS-inflicted Jim Wilson is rescued by the Hulk during a protest against a student with AIDS from returning to school, similar to protests against the real-world Ryan White during the 1980s.

Hunger Action Heroes Unite!

Hunger relief organization Feeding San Diego created both a comic book and curriculum that can be used in classrooms to teach students about issues surrounding hunger and the environment.

Good Trouble Comics

Named after a catch phrase popularized by civil rights icon John Lewis, Good Trouble Comics intends on publishing comic books that inspire political action and give voice to the voiceless.

Superman Battles Polio

In 1940, reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane investigate a fake medical clinic that claims to assist people suffering from infantile paralysis, better known as polio, that is nothing more than a scam.

Necessary Trouble Archives

Inspired by the words of civil rights icon John Lewis, school counselor Mick Rabin created teacher guides for various historical graphic novels that include “call to action” video interviews.

Teaching History with Popular Media

Professor Chad William Timm of Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, discusses ways that music, graphic narratives, and movies can be effectively incorporated into the history classroom.

Red Wolf and the Occupation of Alcatraz

The mythical Red Wolf seeks revenge on the death of Willaim Talltrees’ parents while Richard Oakes hatches a plan to occupy Alcatraz Island after its notorious prison was abandoned in 1963.

Superman’s Mission for President Kennedy

In a storyline created before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Superman is called to the Oval Office to lend a hand in promoting physical fitness to the youth of the United States.