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.

Fringe and Mind Control

Exploration of the mind control experiments performed on the television drama Fringe and the actual research conducted by the CIA’s MK-Ultra Project, with emphasis on the effects of LSD.

Game of Thrones and Philosophy

Exploration of the book Game of Thrones and Philosophy, with a focus on how the George R.R. Martin book series and HBO drama reflect the writings of Thomas Hobbes and Niccolo Machiavelli.

Castle: Vampire Culture

Exploration of vampire culture as portrayed in the “Vampire Weekend” episode of the television detective series Castle, as well as within the pages of Vampires Today by Joseph Laycock.

The X-Files: The Roswell Incident

Examination of the events in Roswell, New Mexico, and how the supposed crash of a UFO in 1947 has been incorporated into the mythology of the classic science fiction drama The X-Files.

Revenge and The Count of Monte Cristo

Comparison of the television drama Revenge and the classic literary work by Alexandre Dumas, with emphasis on the quests for revenge by main protagonists Edmond Dantès and Amanda Clark.

Castle: Prohibition and New York City

Exploration of the Prohibition Era of the 1920s and its influence on New York City and tavern culture, with the “Last Call” episode of the television detective series Castle serving as catalyst.

Castle: Real Life Superheroes

Exploration of Real Life Superheroes portrayed in the season four episode “Heroes and Villains” of the television detective series Castle, as well as within the HBO documentary Superheroes.

Person of Interest and the Shadow Factory

Comparison of the surveillance system in the television drama Person of Interest and the real-life abilities of the NSA as outlined in the book The Shadow Factory by journalist James Bamford.

Grimm and the Brothers Grimm

Exploration of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and how their fairy tales relate to the television drama Grimm, in which a Portland police detective discovers that the fairy tales of old are actually real.

Leverage and The Big Con

Examination of the book The Big Con by David Maurer, which recites the history of the early twentieth century confidence artist, and how it relates to the twenty-first century Leverage.

Fringe and the Physics of the Impossible

Exploration of the science fiction depicted on the television drama Fringe, with emphasis on teleportation, and the real-world potential outlined by Michio Kaku in Physics of the Impossible.

Castle: Steampunk Culture

Exploration of Steampunk Culture as portrayed in the “Punked” episode of the television detective series Castle, as well as within the pages of The Steampunk Bible by Jeff VanderMeer.

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