Gary Lester

Origin

Gary Lester was a childhood friend of John Constantine and the two would later go on to form the Punk band Mucous Membrane with him on guitar and songwriter. Gary would also follow John into the world of the occult and traveled with him to Newcastle on one fateful night. After the tragedy of Newcastle, Gary turned to drugs and eventually became addicted to heroin.

Creation

Gary Lester was created by Jamie Delano and first drawn by artist John Ridgway in Hellblazer #1 (Jan 1988).

Major Story Arcs

On one of his travels to Africa looking for drugs, Gary came across a possessed boy in a sweatshop with binding markings. Using his knowledge of exorcisms and a desire to atone for Newcastle, he freed the spirit and captured it in a magic flask, which would turn out to be the demon Mnemoth, the hunger spirit.

Unfortunately for him, the demon escaped and began possessing people. He tracked down John Constantine who in turn visited Papa Midnite where they came up with a plan to lure the demon back to Lester and then bind him with the same markings as the African boy had. The plan worked and Gary died with the hunger entity sealed away inside him, buried in the basement of Papa Midnite’s New York club.

As a spirit Gary would both haunt and advise John in his later years.

Other Media

Constantine

Irish actor Jonjo O’Neill portrays Gary Lester in episode 4 of the NBC series Constantine “A Feast of Friends” based on the first two issues of Hellblazer. He is an old friend of Constantine who is also a drug addict. He participated in the Newcastle incident, which sent Astra’s soul to Hell.

Much like the comic, Gary seeks out John after trapping the hunger demon in a bottle while in Africa. John is dismissive of Gary and thinks of him as a waste of space but agrees to help clear up his mess. The two reminisce about Newcastle and John forgives him for being scared, all the while planning to trap the demon in Gary himself. Accepting his fate, Gary agrees to be possessed and be marked with the seal. John holds his hand while the angel Manny accepts him into heaven as he dies.