Bad Boy: A Graphic Memoir

by Walter Dean Myers, Dawud Anyabwile (illustrator)

A gripping graphic memoir adaptation of iconic, multi-award-winning author Walter Dean Myers’s autobiography, telling the story of his coming-of-age in Harlem, adapted by Guy A. Sims and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile.

Legendary author Walter Dean Myers was once a troublemaker and a truant.

Just how bad was he? From instigating mischievous pranks at home to fighting in the classroom—especially when teased about his speech impediment—irrepressible Walter was more than a handful. Underneath it all, he had a tremendous love for books, and by high school he longed to become a writer. But financial troubles at home made him feel his options were so limited that he dropped out of school. Still, his desire to write was as irrepressible as Walter himself. If he could only be given the chance…

Walter recounts what growing up in Harlem was like in the 1940s and 1950s—when seeing Langston Hughes and Sugar Ray Robinson on the street was the norm and Jackie Robinson ruled the baseball field.

Gripping. Funny. Heartbreaking. Walter Dean Myers's memoir is unforgettable. This is the award-winning story of one of the strongest voices in children’s and young adult literature.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Comics, Middle Grade, Biography Memoir

128 pages, Hardcover

Published September 30, 2025

About the author

pseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson

Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.

After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.

Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.

In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.

Reviews

[Kristen M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic novel memoir of the late, great, Walter Dean Myers. he grew up in Harlem in the 1930s and 1940s and felt out of place for being smart, a reader with a speech impediment. He hid library books in paper bags on the way home in fear of being teased for being a nerd.

The book carefully crafts Myers's teen feelings of angst, not fitting in, and being misunderstood. I loved learning that WDM did not graduate from HS and instead went into the military. Sometimes the bureaucracy of systems and institutions deadens even the most inspired among us.

[YSBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Walter’s mother died, he and his siblings were sent by their father to various homes; Walter went to the Myers family. His adoptive mother encouraged him to become an excellent reader. Working to overcome a speech impediment, he became the target of bullies and frequently landed in fights. Fighting seemed the only way to prove his manliness when his love of reading telegraphed a weakness to peers. Despite his obvious intelligence, his violent behavior pushed him toward a life of crime. This graphic novel follows Myers’s journey through the 1940s and 50s, as he grows up in Harlem and struggles to understand whether he is truly a bad boy or simply misunderstood. Throughout this retelling, Anyabwile brilliantly conveys mood and emotion using dynamically illustrated panels to bring the dynamic Harlem culture to life. This story of self-discovery and overcoming adversity will inspire readers who may be facing their own challenges. The accessible and highly pictorial format makes this adaptation perfect for readers who may struggle with the original book and want to learn more about this inspiring author. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Purchased for school library

This was a perfectly fine adaptation of Myers 2001 autobiography. There's a good feeling of Harlem in the 1940s, and my students will pick up just about anything in graphic novel format.

The text is close to the original, which I only listened to. My recollection was that the book was very anecdotal, and I wasn't surprised that the graphic novel seemed to jump around and didn't give me all of the information I wanted. I was also left with the impression, again, that students will be disappointed that Myers wasn't really bad at all.

I bought this thinking that Myers work was still popular with my students, but... it really isn't any more. Not a surprise, since Myers died in 2014. This is especially interesting, considering that 2014 is the same year the the We Need Diverse Books movement really took off, and there are now so many more writers of color whose works are widely available. GAME (2008) still circulates, but that's about the only one. I need to do some weeding, and think that there will definitely be some titles that will go. On the bright side, they are probably very worn out, since Myers was a popular author back in the day.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2001, Walter Dean Myers wrote his autobiography by telling his story of growing up in Harlem and his love of reading books along with his struggles. The late Myers [1937 - 2014] wrote more than 110 books for children and young adults focused on the African-American experience. In this graphic memoir, adapted by Guy A. Sims and illustrated by Dawub Anyabwile, Myers’ story is brilliantly told and brought to life through its images. Though the graphics are rough and at times dark, they are well designed.

Just as in Myers’ autobiography, Sims and Anyabwile tells the story of the young Myers’ antics of always finding himself in trouble with his parents, his teachers and occasionally with the police. But he did find solace in reading books which pushed him into discovering new worlds… by dropping out of high school and then joining the military. A fascinating funny and moving memoir of a great author who was encouraged to write by his teachers and who daringly picked up the pen to share his childhood stories. A well-worth read.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the hands of the creative hands of Dawud Anyabwile, comes to the graphic memoir of Walter Dean Myers detailing his early life as a "bad boy" in Harlem. There were always issues with teachers, the friends he hung out with, his exuberance (like when he's supposed to be resting after his appendix was removed and instead he went biking but had to rush back because he thought he'd been found out only to rupture the stitches and bleed all over prompting a return to the hospital).

It details his living with his non-biological parents in quasi adopted/foster situation but interacting with his biological family. It details his early issues with school until he discovered his love of books and words including hiding his books to return to the library in paper bags to avoid the taunts of his friends in the neighborhood. A worthy snapshot of Myers' life.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s no easy feat to translate a memoir from an author beloved by many teen readers into a graphic novel. This one shines in its depiction of Harlem where Walter Dean Myers grew up and honed his craft, drawing inspiration from his own life and those around him. Because he often got into trouble for various reasons, including being misunderstood by others and his family’s economic challenges, his story will surely resonate with many youngsters just like him, who were once and forever labeled “bad.” But Myers found a way out of that label and those low expectations—through his writing and the stories he told. There’s a lot to like about this graphic adaptation of his life story, but some of the panels are too small and some shifts from pivotal moment to pivotal moment seem jarring and lacking context. Still, I’d hand this title to many boys and girls just like young Walter.

[J. Robinson-Readersgottoread · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

This explains a lot of elements and topics in Myers’ stories. He was one of my favorite authors as a teen. This makes me want to revisit his works.
Some of the stories or vignettes seem to end with no conclusion. Also flashbacks or stories from different time periods were added in-between his progression as a kid to young adulthood. I wish sections had included the year.

I realize this was an adaptation and the full memoir may add some clarity to some of the memories. I would recommend to older teens and new adults.



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Content and triggers: physical violence and abuse; medical trauma; injuries; gun and knife violence threatened; racism; alcohol use, abuse, and addiction; mental health concerns; suicidal ideation mentioned; n-word used; scene with drug use

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel adaptation of Myer's memoir felt a bit choppy and disconnected. I haven't read the text version so I'm not sure if it flows the same way. Myers shares his growing up years as a student with a speech impairment but also a love of reading that he had to hide from the boys in his neighborhood. He had teachers who encouraged his writing but others who only saw his "bad boy" behavior.
Students will pick it up because of the title and graphic format but I think they will not be able to engage with it fully due to the episodic nature and choppiness of the content.

CW: use of the N* word, violence

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Graphic novel adaptation of Myers's memoir. I haven't read the actual memoir, so I can't be certain of how this functions as an adaptiaton. It feels really choppy, like there's big chunks missing. It's pretty episodic, and a lot of those episodes are very absorbing, but it doesn't really flow together. I also felt like there were some explanations missing that I think might be in the original memoir. For example, the narrative mentions several times that Myers has some kind of speech problem, but it's never explained exactly what that speech problem is.

[Jennybeast · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was good to learn more about Walter Dean Myers' life, even in a strangely terse and episodic format. He feels almost like two entirely different people -- the intellectual and the fighter. I hope he managed to find some peace later in his life. I think there's a lot that young people might identify with -- feeling lost, at war with yourself over family relationships, an inability to connect with academic education -- but it's also pretty depressing and disjointed.

[Stephanie E. Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad Boy? You must mean "good writer, bad decision maker".
He once said, "Let me try everything except staying out of trouble," which is how he found his voice. Part confession,part coming-of-age glow-up.
He was bad though.
He went on to win numerous awards for his writings and poetry, including winning the prestigious Corretta Scott King award five times. This former Bad Boy won every single major award in the field of children's literature.
But he was a bad boy...lol.

[Shanna Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed following along Walter Dean Myers journey through childhood. As a teacher myself, there are so many things that hurt my heart and I hope that I can be brave enough to see those flags for students. This was a beautifully told memoir.

[Nicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This YA graphic memoir is great for upper middle school and high school. It felt a little fragmented here and there, but Walter Dean Myers did a fabulous job of showing his life, the good and the bad.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but hopped around quite a bit.

[Patricia Q · Rating 2 out of 5]

This adaptation is very disjointed and at multiple places it makes it seem like there are pages missing because the story just ends abruptly.

[Cristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, a little hard to follow, kind of abrupt ending

[Catherine Mincy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be a four or five star but it just fizzled out at the end. Actually, just chopped off with no real ending whatsoever. Disappointing.

[Ashley Spilman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a neat graphic novel I would highly recommend picking it up and reading it.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this story of the great young adult author Walter Dean Myers. I will recommend this to students.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suffering isn't necessary to make a good writer, but it's certainly one way to start!