For those of you that are interested in the upcoming "Watchmen" film, but have yet to figure out what the hype is about, head on over to the Cartoon Art Museum for a crash course on what is arguably the best comic book ever made.

The Cartoon Art Museum, located on 655 Mission Street, is showcasing its "Art of Watchmen" exhibit from now until July 19. The museum is brimming with "Watchmen" art and memorabilia from the upcoming film.

The exhibit coincided with WonderCon, the comic book and pop culture convention held annually in San Francisco since 2003. At a special opening event held February 27, fans could meet Dave Gibbons, the artist behind the critically acclaimed graphic novel. Also on display was the original artwork Gibbons did for the book's covers, character designs and comic pages.

The exhibit follows the progression from Gibbon's original concept sketches, through the comic pages and artwork, followed by its adaptation of the film, showing off how the Watchmen went from novel to anticipated film.

"Gibbons is a great guy. He's extremely talented and really friendly. We were really thrilled to have him," said Andrew Farago, gallery manager for the Cartoon Art Museum.

Comic book films are popular, but Spider-Man and Batman are rarely spoken of as high art. Maybe that's because no Spider-Man book has been named one of Time Magazine's 100 Best Novels.

"Watchmen is an incredibly hard comic to adapt," said Brian Hibbs, owner of Comix Experience. "It's dark and nihilistic, and really long, and I don't see how it could possibly be good as a two-hour film."

And while the museum exhibit may not do much to convince critics of the quality of the film, it does show how the film creators stayed true to the look of the graphic novel.

"I will admit that it does look just like the comic. They got the visual style spot on," Hibbs said.

The newest pieces to the collection are the movie props and costumes. Full ensembles for Rorschach, Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II are on display, giving a view of the amount of detail that went into the production of the film. The costumes also provide a standard of excellence for cosplayers, fans who publicly masquerade as their favorite comic book characters. Numerous glass cases filled with movie props adorn the museum, including Rorschach's grappling hook, Nite Owl II's binoculars, and many of the weapons and gadgets used in the movie.

Whether you're a fan of the graphic novel, are interested in the upcoming movie, or just dig everything Watchmen related, the exhibit has such an eclectic mix of medium that there's something for everybody.

"It's a really cool exhibit for anyone that likes anything about Watchmen," said Gary Buechler, owner of The Comic Outpost in San Francisco.

As a tie-in for the film, the Cartoon Art Museum is also hosting a special preview screening of "Watchmen" on March 5. The tickets start at $25, include a ticket for the museum and all the money raised goes directly to the museum.