Q. While watching the DVD of ”Dogma,” I noticed that in the scene where Linda Fiorentino’s character is trying to convince Jay and Silent Bob to accompany her to New Jersey, Jay says ”I feel like she’s Ben Kenobi, I’m Han Solo, you’re Chewy and we’re in that [bleeped]-up bar!” Aren’t Jay and Silent Bob inspired by C3P0 and R2D2? One is tall, slender and speaks at great and annoying lengths while the other is short, fat and hardly utters a word.

Roy Chang, New York

A. Kevin Smith replies: ”From as far back as ‘Mallrats’ people have been asking me this question, and I have to admit it’s an interesting theory. However, I’d be lying if I said the similarities were intentional. While Jay and Silent Bob may suggest the world’s most famous droids, it’s purely coincidence. However, if my embracing of your theory makes you rush out and see ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’ when it hits theaters nationwide Aug. 24, then may I take this opportunity to say that there has never been a more astute observation of my work.”

Take Kevin Smith’s recent Daredevil run for example. While the storyline is obviously not aimed at children, the series is Code approved, even though it includes scenes of Daredevil dropping a baby off of a rooftop and Karen Page catching a billy club in her chest. At the Wizard World convention in Chicago, Kevin Smith admitted that he changed at least one scene in his run, Daredevil giving Black Widow the “big beat-down,” a scene where the most violent acts were off panel. As Smith originally envisioned it, Daredevil would graphically be shown beating on Widow in his Mysterio-induced mind control.