UC Davis

Dawud Anyabwile (previously known as David Sims) is best-known as the comic book illustrator for the Black family-owned independent series Brotherman: Dictator of Discipline. This interview is a compilation of edited excerpts from two recorded interview sessions conducted shortly after the 2020 Schomburg Center’s Annual Black Comic Book Festival in Harlem, New York. The conversation focuses on how Dawud’s early home experiences and work as an airbrush artist inspired the world illustrated on each page of his Brotherman comic books. We also discuss his artistic influences, how he learned to make comic books, and the inspirations behind his name change.