Fan loves Northern comic (7)
I believe the answer is:
buffoon
'comic' is the definition.
(buffoon is a kind of comic)
'fan loves northern' is the wordplay.
'fan' becomes 'buff' ('buff' can be a synonym of 'fan').
'loves' becomes 'oo'.
'northern' becomes 'n' (abbreviation e.g. N. Ireland).
'buff'+'oo'+'n'='BUFFOON'
(Other definitions for buffoon that I've seen before include "comic" , "Foolish person" , "Jester" , "Ludicrous figure" , "'Clown, fool (7)'" .)