When Guy A. Sims was growing up in Mt. Airy, he was surrounded by creativity. While writing was always Sims’ “art of choice,” his three brothers found their niches in illustration, film, and music. Being raised in such an artistic household influenced Sims’ eventual career path as an author and as the Free Library of Philadelphia’s first chief diversity and inclusion officer.

Sims’ latest work, “Bad Boy: A Graphic Memoir,” is a graphic adaptation of award–winning author Walter Dean Myers’ autobiography. Sims will be at Lovett Memorial Library at 2 p.m., Dec. 6, to celebrate the release of the new book, a graphic depiction of Myers’ “Bad Boy: A Memoir,” which was originally published in 2001. In the spirit of returning to his roots, work on the book was a family affair: The graphic novel is illustrated by Sims’ brother, Dawud Anyabwile (formerly David Sims).

Brotherly love

Sims and Anyabwile’s journey as collaborators goes back to the 1990s, when the pair created the “Brotherman” comic books. According to Sims, the “Brotherman” series was “very instrumental for the Black comic book movement in the ‘90s.” The comic books received critical acclaim and are displayed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

The duo also worked together on a 2015 graphic novel adaptation of “Monster,” a young adult book by Myers. Sims said he did not get a chance to meet Myers, who died in 2014 before the book was released. However, his work on “Monster” was well received and earned him and Anyabwile the opportunity to create the adaptation of “Bad Boy.”

According to Sims, he was familiar with Myers’ large body of work — the young adult novelist wrote more than 100 books. However, Sims did not know much about Myers’ background, which is the focus of “Bad Boy.”

“I didn’t know much about him as a person. I knew more about him as a writer and the number of books he’d put out, so I admired him there,” Sims told the Local. “But once I got into the history of himself, I found so many parallels and I said, ‘This is a fantastic story.’ I saw myself immersed in the story.”

Universal themes

“Bad Boy” follows the story of Myers’ childhood in the 1940s and 1950s in Harlem. According to Sims, the story touches on universal themes.

“It is about teens making their way through the world and facing challenges,” Sims said.

For Sims, adapting this work was made even easier when he reflected on his own experiences as a young student. Although he didn’t attend school in New York, Sims thought back to his experiences at Henry H. Houston School in Mt. Airy. Picturing locations around the school — such as stairwells and benches — helped him create a more evocative representation of Myers’ story.

“My responsibility as the adapter [is] to take the words from the page and translate it for the artist, who then takes it and translates it into the picture,” Sims explained.

He recalled one specific instance of a humorous tradition. “At Houston School, there’s a bench outside the principal’s office and if you get in trouble, that’s where they send you to sit. It’s funny because you sat there and all your friends would walk by in between class. It’s like you’re on display right there and they laugh at you.”

Sims’ work at the Free Library

Sims started his position as the chief diversity and inclusion officer of the Free Library of Philadelphia in 2020 and will celebrate his five-year anniversary this month.

“My role is to look at the environment in the community of the library and see how best we can do a better job of working together,” Sims said. “When people have concerns, questions, or suggestions, I seem to be a great focal point to receive those and then work to address them.”

When working on “Bad Boy,” Sims realized the book is all about trying to find your place. This theme struck him as particularly applicable to his work at the library.

“I think everybody wants a place. Everybody wants to feel that they’re a part of something. No one wants to feel that doubt,” Sims said. “The things that are happening in [“Bad Boy”] are things that we do at the library to help people discover who they really are and their place in the world.”

Guy A. Sims will discuss “Bad Boy: A Graphic Memoir” at Lovett Memorial Library (6945 Germantown Ave.) on Dec. 6 at 2 p.m.

Maggie Dougherty can be reached at Margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com.