diff --git a/IPython/external/argparse/__init__.py b/IPython/external/argparse/__init__.py
index 778b1fe..699f017 100644
--- a/IPython/external/argparse/__init__.py
+++ b/IPython/external/argparse/__init__.py
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
+from IPython.utils.version import check_version
 try:
     import argparse
     # don't use system argparse if older than 1.1:
-    if argparse.__version__ < '1.1':
+    if not check_version(argparse.__version__, '1.1'):
         raise ImportError
     else:
         from argparse import *