Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the latest popular movie “Watchmen“. Perhaps you didn’t realize that it’s based on the best-selling graphic novel by Alan Moore. Whether you see the movie or not (and if you’re a guy, you’re probably going to go see the movie), you may want to know a few things about the graphic novel.

First off, a graphic novel is not a comic book. It may look like a comic book, but it’s more than that. And “Watchmen” is especially more complex and mature than a traditional comic. If you’re looking for a fun gift for your 10 year old nephew, this is NOT it.

In fact, I would suggest that the R rating on the movie is probably a good reflection of the rating I would give the graphic novel. There’s a lot of violence (and it’s not sugar-coated), plenty of swear words and a few sexual situations. If you’ve got a mature high-schooler that wants to read it, that’s probably fine. If you have a middle-schooler who’s interested, I would suggest that you read it first before you make your decision.

“Watchmen” is also not what I’d call a “feel good” read. It’s political, it’s characters are often morally ambiguous and there’s an armageddon theme running throughout. You’re not going to finish up the story and want to go to a child’s birthday party.

If you’re a comic book fan, this may be right up your alley. Personally, my favorite graphic novels would have to be Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight” series.

If you enjoyed other graphic novels like “The Crow” or “The Sandman“, you’ll probably like “Watchmen“. But don’t say I didn’t try to warn you…