Ricky D

"Sometimes they bump into others or, worse yet, poke someone in the eye with a selfie stick."

Selfies taken in San Diego have earned us international acclaim. The most recent buzz was generated by actress Jennifer Garner, who took a selfie video while stuck in an elevator at Comic-Con over the weekend. Another notable selfie moment occurred when a crazed Padres fan snapped a selfie in front of the record-breaking 47,000-plus Petco Park attendees before getting tackled by security guards.

Between these events, many selfies taken throughout the convention center and its surroundings were plain cringe-worthy—except for Garner's selfie video posted on July 28.

Garner's 60-plus million followers were in shock.

Garner's viral clip, captioned “Baby’s first Comic-Con: a short story,” begins with her saying, “Hey guys, we’re stuck on this elevator.” Many of her 60-plus million followers were in shock. While convention center staff members and firefighters worked to fix the stalled elevator, the Daredevil actress quipped, “I could use a Wolverine, I could use a Deadpool. I could use someone … OK, thanks for having us here at my first Comic-Con. Bye for now.” Two or three others were in the elevator with her.

Mercury Hornbeek, who dresses as Padre Libre: "People forget to look around before recording or taking pics."

After 72 minutes, a firefighter forced the doors open, and everyone in the elevator exclaimed, "Yay!" Garner's fans online celebrated as well. One Instagrammer commented, "I was the Captain who responded to your elevator rescue and picked you out. Pleasure to serve! I’m sorry it took so long for them to call us out there to help. Glad to see everything worked out well. Pleasure meeting you (briefly)."

While the Golden Globe winner's clip will forever be embedded in selfie history, other selfies taken at Comic-Con 2024 were less memorable. Ricky D., who attended Comic-Con for all four days this year, can't stand selfie-takers who walk the show and run into him. "That happens to me all the time," he said. Then they get mad at me when I yell at them because they don't realize they bumped into me."

"They stand in front of our booth taking selfies with all the cosplayers who pass by, and potential customers walk right past us."

Ricky D

Other selfie-takers at the Con approached celebrities in the Sails Pavilion to snap quick selfies without their knowledge. Ricky remembers seeing Janeshia Adams-Ginyard, who played Nomble in Black Panther, and actors from Monster High: The Movie.

Some celebrities charge up to $50 for a selfie and an autograph, and fans have been sneaking selfies without paying for years.

Down in the Exhibit Hall, selfish selfie takers cut in line—where others waited for hours—to snap a "selfish selfie from a distance," according to John Peters, who managed a toy booth in aisle 2200. "Then they stand in front of our booth taking selfies with all the cosplayers who pass by, and potential customers walk right past us."

The phenomenon of selfish selfies at Comic-Con began in 2010 with the development of front-facing smartphone cameras. By 2012, when Instagram blew up due to its new Android version, selfie culture took over. The following year, "selfie" was proclaimed the "Word of the Year" by Oxford Dictionaries, and the trend even seeped into comic book storylines.

Duane Dimock, a veteran cereal box and vintage toy dealer at the Con, has seen his share of "selfish, selfie-taking comic conners." He noted, "Selfies can be dangerous, especially while driving. Can't they get a ticket for that?" While there is no specific law against taking selfies while driving, the California Highway Patrol states that the fine for a first-time texting or cell phone violation is a minimum of $162, increasing with each subsequent violation.

Back at the Con, Mercury Hornbeek, who dresses as Padre Libre, noticed some selfie-takers outside the San Diego Convention Center. "People get caught up in the spotlight and forget to look around before recording or taking pics," he said. "Sometimes they bump into others or, worse yet, poke someone in the eye with a selfie stick."

Earlier in the month, across the street at Petco Park, Hornbeek and 47,000-plus other baseball fans witnessed a seemingly more daring selfie taker than any other Comic-Con attendee mentioned above. "Manny Machado hit a walk-off homer, and a guy ran out and got right next to Manny, even touched him," Hornbeek recalled. The guy had his phone out, taking a selfie when security tackled him and dragged him off the field. "He had his phone with him the whole time getting footage. Lots of people were yelling and cheering. I heard the guy wasn't even from here and had a warrant for his arrest."