Is Apollo/GraphQL a framework replacement to express?

Hi,

I'm new to the whole node.js movement and I need some advice on a setup. I'm looking to setup Apollo + GraphQL with an ArangoDB database.

Question 1:
- I know that GraphQL can integrate with ArangoDB together but I'm not sure if Apollo acts a framework or if I need Express installed as well. What I mostly need other than GraphQL is authentication. Is having Apollo only, a replacement to a framework and sufficient enough for a novice? This is not explained properly anywhere. The line of services is blurred.

Question 2:
- Can I lea node.js briefly, or is Apollo/GraphQL's syntax really dependent on nodes.js' verbage? I'm asking these questions to plan what I need to lea. I want to avoid leaing things I will not be using a lot.

Thanks in advance.