The comic Superman: Space Age portrays a world “about to come to an end” and only one person capable of saving it: the reporter Clark Kent or, rather, his alter ego, Superman. The story takes place in the 1960s and presents a map of a very different Europe in which Rome is a kind of island, Ireland appears unified and, to the delight of some and the disgust of others, the Basque Country is an independent state.
The comic is the work of the writer Mark Russell, the prestigious illustrator Michael Allred, winner of two Eisner awards (highest recognition in the industry), and Laura Allred, responsible for adding color to the work. The comic has recently been published in its English version.
The user of twitter and tiktoker Lord Isasi, passionate about the world of comics, has been the one who has noticed this curiosity, which other users have taken very seriously in their responses.
“It seems that in the Land of Superman: Space Age, by Mark Russell and Mike Allred, the Basque Country is independent,” he said in a tweet.
The comment is accompanied by an image that shows, indeed, how the Autonomous Community of Euskadi, the foral community of Navarra and the French Basque Country -that is, the cultural environment known as Euskal Herria- appears as an independent State in southern Europe.
The map in question distinguishes the European States in different colors and other singularities can be appreciated. Ireland appears as a unified country, while Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily appear in the same color as a large state in North Africa. In the northern part of Morocco, on the other hand, a small differentiated territory appears, which it is intuited that it would belong to Spain. In Eastern Europe, the USSR survives and, although it is not clearly seen, it is intuited what the extinct Yugoslavia was.
Michael Allred has also depicted a much more elongated Belgium, he has made Andorra disappear and, most curiously, he has painted Rome as an island separate from the Italian Peninsula. It is not clear why, nor is it clear what its relationship with the Basque territory may be.
