Her first pick was her uncle John, but he was deemed unsuitable and she ended up with someone she barely even knew. A relative of her father’s by the name of Vlad Masters.

Despite the unfamiliarity, things seem… fine, at first. Yeah, their interactions are rather stilted and the house’s Packers theming is hideous, but he hasn’t been abusive or anything.

But, look. She’s not blind. Vlad’s not the most subtle guy, and ever since her incident with The Man, she’s made sure to keep an eye out for signs of the supernatural.

There’s clearly something strange going on here. And she’s gonna find out whatever the hell it is.

…though she has to hope that whatever it is won’t be too big for her novice magical abilities.

So like, I perfectly understand why people don't like John having a mentee. He's a mess, better not have a kid get stuck in the chaos that is his life.

But at the same time, I think (before Milligan's run) they'd given her some really good trajectory to be an exception. Like, it wasn't John going "alright kiddo, here's how cool magic is, btw I'm your new dad", Gemma basically came into it on her own when he couldn't stop her, and became, in her words, not quite as big a bastard as John. In a way, it's wierdly fitting that what he'd see as one of his biggest mistakes was something he wasn't involved in but instead part of a legacy he left. But since at that point she was kind of stuck in it, (and already refused to stop once) he'd just have to be sure she doesn't end up like Gary Lester. They're the only family they have, and despite how much he'd beat himself up, John would stand by his niece.

But yeah, enough waxing lyrical. If we do get Gemma back, I'd really like her to be more like an update on Carey's Gemma. Rather than having her denounce magic, having her go in deeper to overcome the pain. An upcoming witch in her own right, who does suffer for it, but isn't just John's sidekick. A prominent part of the Hellblazer mythos again without being part of the crowd. Just give the girl her mallet and nails back haha.

WHERE'S GEMMA???

I do have a few actually! Gemma's a character I feel pretty attached to despite her few appearances. I'm a bit rusty on some of the older Hellblazer so some stuff might be contradictory

•On the rare occassions John was in charge of babysitting her, he'd take her to get ice cream, always at the same place. It wasn't good ice cream but she liked it anyway beacuse it meant spending time with her uncle.

•She has a few tattoos, but not in very visable places. Some are related to magic and enchantments (or at least an attempt to get one with magical properties), like what some versions of John have, whereas others are the usual "dumb teenage decision" ones.

•Her and Chas's daughter, Geraldine, are canonically around the same age, so it would make sense that they went to the same school at some point. They were friendly with each other but not quite in the same circles.

•Magic aside, as a teenager she had a habit of picking up a lot John's old interests. Like she'd listen to simlar songs, or buy a jacket that looked like one of his. She never realised what she was doing, but it quietly scared Cheryl, fearing it was a sign she'd take an interest in the occult.