T-Shirt featuring the comic book hero, Brotherman: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black shirt with five black buttons down the front. The shirt has white lettering on the left side that reads “BROTHERMAN / DICTATOR OF DISCIPLINE.” Below the lettering is a white image of the comic book hero, Brotherman with “© & TM 1994 BIG CITY COMICS” next to his right boot. A black tag with blue lines and red lettering is on the left side of the shirt near the hemline. The tag reads “SOFFEE,” “CRAFTED WITH PRIDE IN USA” and “FAYETTEVILLE, NC 49068 XL.” The shirt has two white tags inside the collar. The larger tag reads “BROTHER / MAN / GEAR / Made in USA” and the smaller tag underneath lists what the shirt is made of, size and has washing instructions. The back of the shirt has white lettering near the collar that reads “BROTHER / MAN / DICTATOR OF DISCIPLINE.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1994
• Manufactured by: Soffe, American, founded 1946
• Distributed by: Big City Comics, Inc., American, 1989 - 1996
• Type: shirts
• Medium: cotton
• Dimensions: H x W: 31 1/8 × 36 5/8 in. (79 × 93 cm)
• Place made: Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Comics and graphic novels
• Object number: 2017.116.1.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Brotherman Comics / Big City Entertainment, Inc.
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Big City Entertainment, Inc Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.