Filmmaker Kevin Smith’s pen has found a new mark off the big screen.

Smith — the director and writer of Clerks, Chasing Amy and Dogma — is resurrecting the DC Comic Green Arrow, about a modern-day, crime-fighting Robin Hood who’s a whiz with a bow and arrow.

“Comic books have grown up, so it was a great time to get back in, not only because it appeals to the kid in me but because the writing has grown so much stronger,” says Smith from the set of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, out Aug. 10. The film follows the adventures of Jay (Jason Mewes ) and Silent Bob (played by Smith), the dimwitted dudes who have appeared in Smith’s earlier movies, and reunites the usual players, including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Joey Lauren Adams and Chris Rock.

Smith’s first major foray as a comic-book writer came in 1998 with Marvel’s Daredevil, which features a blind superhero. Now he has signed on to revive superhero Green Arrow, aka Oliver Queen. The comic book dates to 1941, but the character was killed off in ‘95 and replaced by his son, Connor Hawke. Smith, 30, committed himself to 12 issues; the first is due out Feb. 28.

“Green Arrow is a second-tier, maybe even third-tier character,” Smith says. “I guess it’s just the underdog influence why I always root for the guy whose not necessarily the guy on top.”

He’s not the only one. Longtime fan Jayme Blaschke, 31, of Temple, Texas, who runs a Web site devoted to Green Arrow, says: “This isn’t some guy from another planet. He doesn’t get his powers from a magic ring or the bite from a radioactive spider. He’s a normal man, just like you or I. He likes his chili hot and his jazz cool.”

In August, Smith will launch Bluntman and Chronic, a comic book tied to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Fans of Smith’s films may recognize Bluntman and Chronic as the comic created by Ben Affleck’s character in Chasing Amy. And his published handiwork can be found at his own comic-book store, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, in his hometown of Red Bank, N.J.

Smith says: “Comic books are one of the only true American art forms. They’re powerful icons that are consistently published, even in the age of the Internet.”