Comic Book Soap Opera Cheeseball Hero

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Drake Hogestyn has been chewing the scenery in Days of Our Lives for over twenty years as John Black, the guy who is married to the chick from ElectroWoman and DynaGirl. And now we know why: he's secretly a comic book hero. Or so says David Campbell of the obsessively silly and insanely smart blog Dave's Long Box. Riffing on the idea that comic books and soap operas are essentially the same thing – which they are, my ninjas – Campbell points out that Hogestyn represents the ultimate overlap between the two genres:

Hogestyn is the William Shatner of soap operas. The undisputed masterof the cocked eyebrow and the “I smell a fart” school of acting, thereis no scene on Days that cannot be improved with theinclusion of Drake Hogestyn. Even the little character moments arepainted in such broad strokes by Hogestyn that you cannot help butwatching. He is truly mesmerizing . . .

Campbell continues to wax poetic about Hogestyn, even comparing him to Wolverine:

Drake's character, John Black, has a more convoluted back story thanWolverine, and is every bit as bad ass. John Black has been possessed,
hunted a serial rapist, escaped from dungeons, been presumed deadmultiple times, and has kicked more ass than any soap opera characterthis side of General Hospital’s Robert Scorpio. And just likeWolverine, John Black has a poet’s soul and hides his pain behind amacho façade. We know you're hurting, John. We know.

Sure, he’s on a soap opera, but this cat could easily make the jump to the four color world. I would pay money to see a John Black: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. mini-series. I would PAY to write that. And why not? Recently The Guiding Light hada Marvel comics "crossover" where one of the actresses becomes asuperhero - why not the other way around? A comic book about theWorld's #1 Bad Ass Soap Opera Star?

I personally would pay to read Campbell's comic book. But if he wants to pay me to read it, that's cool too.

Drake Hogestyn, Living Comic Book Character [via Dave's Long Box]