After the trauma of issue 12, this issue threw me for even more a loop, as a kid.  I was a big fan of Heather (not so much of Mac...Sorry Mac) and it was distressing to see her in so much pain.

Spoiler:  I hated that Mac was brought back, killed off and brought back multiple times after JB left... Although his "return" later by JB, had a really awesome surprise twist.

Dana

Easily one of my most cherised childhood memories this issue. The opening sequence was incredible and indicative of JB's quality. Of course I never doubted the events in the dream up to Mac jumping of the grave were more or less real. The interesting twist was though, that the dream became almost prophetic, if we take into consideration what happened almost a year later.

Also, the black and white quality of the dream sequence brought in mind another classic funeral sequence by JB, the aftermath of the Phoenix saga in X-Men #138. Was that intentional?

The shocking death of Guardian and the emergence of Heather as the leader of Alpha Flight made this book better and different from all the others. The characters were very human, very real, and I enjoyed the small stories just as much as the big action full team battles. What a great JB run. I declined to read Alpha Flight after JB left.

This was one of those great "quiet" character issues that would pop up around once a year inbetween all the action.  What a great time for comics.  Heather was always one of the more well defined characters of Alpha, but this was what truly brought her into center stage.  It was very good to see a character gain strength from adversity and become a better person rather than wallow in self pity and misery.  JB showed the anguish of a loved one's death, and the recovery.

I think this AF run was his best despite the many things he may look back now and groan.  I wonder if the reason was that he didn't "feel" or "connect" with the characters.  There was no fanboy in him about these characters like the Stan and Jack creations, so maybe he just concentrated on giving us good stories and characters.

I find mistakes in my first batch of songs, a plenty.

There are songs I've written that my 'fans' love, but I just can't summon the emotion that was present at it's conception, so I can't deal.

But, there's always someone walkin' down that road for the first time.