Issue #106 is the one where Northstar struggles with his sexuality and then comes out as gay. We’ll get to that in a sec. First, Madison Jeffries and Diamond Lil are getting married, and there’s a Christmas cover.
They have their bachelor/bachelorette parties.
That’s basically issue #105.
Of note: The men have their bash at the place Puck used to work at, and his creator, John Byrne, appears at the bar.
These kinds of character-driven stories are better when the characters are interesting. AF has been running on fumes for so long now, it’s hard to care about any of them. Still, having Byrne appear is a nice touch.
The next issue takes place the next morning, and offers the first (only?) appearance of Major Mapleleaf.
The important piece there is the baby. He is born with AIDS, which upsets Northstar. Just the night before he was acting like a wild bachelor, but apparently all the wedding talk has made him sensitive.
He goes to the hospital in a kind of “make a wish” effort.
Mapleleaf shows up at the hospital and Northstar fights him.
It turns out to be a stupid, pointless fight: Mapleleaf is gay and irate because his son was also born with AIDS.
But he talks a lot during the fight, and apparently Northstar takes the words to heart, deciding to come out of the closet.
So after their big dumb fight, they try to get the government to help the baby who is dying of AIDS.
They fail, and the baby dies.
This is a pretty heavy issue. Yet right in the middle is a really dumb battle with Mister Hyde.
Overall, there is no question that this event is “important.” I just wish it were better.