A bit of an odd tale, this. It takes place during the X-Men's stay in San Francisco, and details Norman Osborne's attempts to discredit Scott Summers and position his own "Dark X-Men" as the true representatives of the world's mutants.

There is a major development in X-Men continuity, as the team (and half the world's mutants) move to yet another new home. But whether you enjoy the main story will depend on how much you buy in to the whole premise of Osborne as head of security across the US. This was the idea behind the "dark reign" event which took in a range of Marvel comic books, but it alway seemed a bit odd to me.

However, this trade paperback does offer great value. As well as the main storyline you get a series of character studies of the villains and misfits recruited by Osborne to serve in his Dark X-Men, and these tend to be really good little tales.

If you've ever wanted to learn more about some of Marvel's minor characters such as Cloak and Dagger, or find out what really goes on in Emma Frost's mind, this book is for you.