Justin Webb: CuddleCon 2010

Next up was James Marsters. I remember thinking that James got quite into it, and allowed all kinds of candid poses, including full-on hugging and faux biting and kissing. He really loves his fans. Essentially, if you are a big fan of James Marsters and you have $40, you can have him do all kinds of things to you for 10 seconds in private, and have those things photographed for prosperity.

Then things got really weird.

Next up was Kevin Sorbo ... and with Kevin, anything goes! Kevin will carry you in his arms; give you a piggyback ride; or cuddle you so that you feel special. Kevin will also allow you to mix it up a bit. Not satisfied with having your picture taken standing up? No problem. And this is the bit that broke my brain. One lady asked if she could have her picture taken lying down with Kevin snuggled up behind her - a Sorbo Spoon. While you can imagine some celebrities balking at such an invitation, not Sorbo. Of course, if you let one middle-aged lady get some spoonage, then everyone wants some, and after that there was a steady succession of spoon shots.

It was at about this point that someone realized I had been in the room the whole time and I was asked to leave. The image of Kevin Sorbo spooning someone's grandma for $40 should have burned itself onto my retinas, but somehow the events inside the photo-op room faded from my memory ... until recently.

I went to Boston Super Megafest 2009 at the end of November. It's a small little show which somehow managed to attract a decent bunch of celebrities, including James Marsters. There was also a photo-op room. When the photos from a session are ready to be picked up, they just get dumped on a table, which allows you to look at all of them. James had been up to his old tricks and had even added a couple of moves to his repertoire. Seeing cuddle pictures all over again triggered the memories from 2007. However, like an idiot I did not take any snaps of the pictures.

No-one believes me.

Cuddle pictures are very difficult to find on the internet. They are elusive. They are mostly taken home as hard copies and used to construct creepy shrines. Some tame ones get scanned, and a few get posted online (like the ones shown here), but finding them requires detective work.

However, cuddle pictures do exist in the wild for the briefest of moments. All the pictures are left on the pick-up table for collection. This is when you can strike. I issue a challenge for 2010. If you are at a con, and you find yourself walking past a photo-op table, please take a look and see if there are any extreme cuddle pictures waiting to be picked up. If there are, please photograph and share them.

Best submitted cuddle picture wins a firm handshake and a "thank-you very much sir!".

Remember, some celebrities are more cuddly than others. As a quick guide: