Vacation's all I ever wanted ....

I’m off to vacation in the grand state, or at least big state, of Texas, so I’ll be offline until June 4 or so. But before I go, some odds and ends:

OK, so “Lost” isn’t a comic book. But since comics writer Jeph Loeb used to work on it and comics writer Brian K. Vaughn still does, I feel like I can comment on it. Last night’s season finale has haunted me all day, with its flash-forward to a bitter, druggie Jack who desperately yearns to get back on the island. A true mind-trip.

DC’s “Countdown” continues to, well, count down. This week’s issue included some cool stuff, such as Jimmy Olsen’s apparent return to his Elasti-Lad Days and the return of Black Adam, but in between those events it seemed kind of blah.

From The Associated Press: Japan will hand out its first “Nobel Prize of Manga” this summer for artists in the comic book genre abroad, another step in its efforts to harness the power of pop culture diplomacy. The International Manga Award — which manga enthusiast Foreign Minister Taro Aso likened to a “Nobel Prize” when he first proposed it last year — will be given to an artist working abroad whose work best contributes to the spread of the manga form worldwide, the ministry said.