According to well known ink and paint devotee (and ”Dogma” director) KevinSmith, an affection for the genre informs the film’s somber, rainwashedaesthetic. ”It reminds me a lot of a comic book called ‘The Mage,”’ saysSmith, speaking from the set of his latest offering, ”Jay and Silent BobStrike Back.” That semi- obscure comic follows ”a wizard who convinces aregular guy to try and find out if he’s a superhero, and it’s also set inPhilly.” What’s more, several pundits — including New York Times filmcritic Elvis Mitchell — have mentioned the visual similarities between thesecurity guard hero (Bruce Willis) on patrol in his poncho and a DC Comicscharacter known as ”the Spectre.”