Joe the Barbarian

Hey guys! My girlfriend was reading Joe the Barbarian and noticed something during this splash page.

If you look closely at the mausoleum, you may notice that the flag for the state of Maine is flying above it. Not only that, but it has the city of Portland inscribed on the sides of the structure. If you need a closer look, I blew up that section.

Why is this important? Well the shop is located in Portland, Maine guys! Having lived here for the past ten years, it's always exciting to see the city used in one of my favorite mediums.

I emailed artist Sean Murphy, to see if this was an artistic decision or if Grant Morrison specifically chose Portland as the setting. Hopefully I'll hear back from him, so I can give you guys an answer.

** UPDATE **
Sean Murphy was cool enough to write back to me. As it turns out, it was artistic license. He wrote a blog about it on his deviant art page explaining it more, if you're interested in reading about it.
http://seangordonmurphy.deviantart.com/