On the flipside, one character that Harmer finds himself feeling sympathy for is none other than the rancor from Return of the Jedi. "They put him in a cage merely for everyone's entertainment and then they throw Luke in there -- who, of course is going to kill him," Harmer says. "I feel bad for the rancor because when it roams free it's probably not always angry like that. Actually, even sadder is the rancor's trainer afterwards. He looks so crushed when the rancor is killed. He's probably thinking his life was a big waste after that moment. Or sadder yet, he's probably depressed because it's like he lost his favorite pet thanks to Luke."
It's these sorts of ponderings that put Harmer in a special subset of fans who not only know the films backwards and forwards, but who love to celebrate its legacy in public. Because of this deep appreciation it wasn't long before Harmer found himself amongst crowds of like-minded fans as he attended his first Comic-Con International two years ago. "I've been to Comic-Con for the last two years, and I'm going again in July of this year," Harmer says. "The first time I went to Comic-Con I remember walking up to the convention center with my good friend Aaron [video director Aaron Stewart-Ahn] and we walked right into a group of stormtroopers with their helmets off on a smoke break. I was like, 'This rules!' At that moment, I was living pop culture. And after that I just knew I was in for a ride."
"I love all the costumes that people of all different ages wear," Harmer continues. "I could sit in one spot all day long and watch them. Aaron has a web site for the small production company Otaku House we started to make videos and things like that for bands, and he posted on his blog all the photos from our Comic-Con experience, which is just basically us posing with all these characters like the Ghostbusters and whomever was walking around. Everybody is a star there when they show up dressed up."
In addition to the endless photo opportunities, Harmer says he likes to attend the panels and roam the booths to see which Star Wars comics and games are coming out that year. He also prides himself as a Knights of the Old Republic gamer, as well as a bit of a role player. "Colin Meloy (lead singer of And Death Cab and the Decemberists aren't the only bands Harmer knows who proudly show their comic book and sci-fi geek cred. "What's fun about Comic-Con is that you'd run into other bands there," Harmer smiles. "Everyone at first kind of holds their heads down a little bit and say stuff like, 'Hey, what are you doing here?' But then we start chatting about what we've seen and get excited. Last year the Coheed & Cambria guys were there, and the guys from Pinback are huge comic book guys. So it was fun." At this year's upcoming Comic-Con, Harmer says he hopes Lucasfilm will reveal something about the next phase of the Star Wars saga -- more specifically news about the upcoming TV shows. "I'm so excited about the television series that's coming up," Harmer says. "I don't get too precious about stuff regarding how the story is told. I have friends that will only acknowledge the original trilogy as part of the Star Wars saga, but not the prequels or the Clone Wars TV show. And I don't understand that. These stories are bigger than that and they will continue in a lot of different ways. Just look at what happened with the 'Battlestar Galactica' franchise. The Star Wars story is what's most compelling not the way it's told. And there's a whole new generation of kids who need those dreams too." Be sure to see Harmer and the rest of Death Cab for Cutie play live as they hit the road this spring promoting their new album, Plans. To locate tour dates, listen to tracks off the new album and to read more about the band, visit the official Death Cab for Cutie site here. Stay tuned to Star Wars Rocks for more interviews from some of your favorite bands and celebrities.
