Where's Wally? (called Where's Waldo? in North America) is a series of children's puzzle books created by the (reportedly shy) English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicting dozens or more people doing a variety of amusing things at a given location. Wally is identified by his red-and-white-striped shirt, blue jeans, bobble hat and glasses. Readers are challenged to find Wally and his friends hidden throughout the pages.
The idea was commissioned. In 1986, Handford was asked by his art director, David Bennett, at Walker Books in London, to develop a book of detailed crowd scenes – inspired by Bennett having seen Philippe Dupasquier's Busy Places series. Bennett also suggested the inclusion of a recurring character to tie them together. To that end, Handford invented “Wally” as the visual thread connecting the chaos.
The first book, Where’s Wally?, was published in the UK in 1987. It presented 12 large, bustling double-page scenes — from beaches and sports stadiums to medieval feasts — each hiding Wally among hundreds of other figures. The challenge was straightforward but addictive: find Wally in every scene.
Handford works for eight weeks at a stretch to create each two-page Wally spread. He listens to the Bee Gees, the Clash or old Sergeant Bilko tapes, while he works. The pictures are drawn to the same scale as in the books, with each spread containing 300 to 500 figures.
The concept quickly proved exportable. In 1987, the U.S. rights were acquired by Little, Brown & Company, which launched the series under the Where’s Waldo? name in 1988. Other localisations followed, with Wally’s name changing across territories. Here are some variations:
Wally (United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa), Waldo (United States, Canada), Charlie (France), Walter (Germany), ウォーリー (Wōrī, Japan), 威利 (Wēilì, Chinese), Văn Lãng (Vietnam), Valli (Iceland), Ubaldo (Italy), Holger (Denmark), Willy (Norway), 월리 (Wolli, Korea), Vallu (Finland), Уолли (Uolli, Russia), Hetti (India – Hindi), Effy (Israel – Hebrew), Hugo (Sweden), Ali (Turkey), Valas (Lithuania), Evert (Netherlands)
Handford produced sequels throughout the late 1980s and ’90s, each increasing the complexity of the artwork and adding new recurring characters: Wenda (Waldo’s friend), Odlaw (his stripe-wearing antagonist), Wizard Whitebeard, and a host of whimsical extras. The books expanded into themed challenges (Where’s Waldo? In Hollywood, The Great Picture Hunt!) and spin-off puzzle formats.
By the early 1990s, Where’s Waldo had become a pop-culture phenomenon. The books sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, and Waldo himself became a recognisable global icon.
The brand crossed into television, with an animated series in 1991–92 and later adaptations, as well as video games, merchandise and interactive website versions. Schools and libraries adopted Where’s Waldo for activities promoting observation skills, visual literacy, and attention to detail.
Artists, advertisers, and activists have inserted the figure into murals, political cartoons and social media campaigns to comment on everything from surveillance to celebrity culture.
In the 2000s and beyond, Where’s Wally inspired real-world gatherings in which thousands of people dressed as the character attempted to set world records. These events, held in cities from Dublin to Tokyo, underscored the figure’s enduring visual appeal and its function as a unifying, playful challenge.
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References
wikipedia.org/wiki/Where%27s_Wally%3F
independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/where-s-the-brains-behind-wally
guinnessworldrecords.com/news/commercial/2017/10/wheres-wally-4-626-people-dressed-as-waldo-break-a-record-in-japan
petitefoxdesigns.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/wheres-waldo-wednesday-on-the-beach
Images
1. Where's Wally beach scene. Credit: Petite Fox Designs
2. Wally aka Waldo aka …
3. The Railway Station, Philippe Dupasquier's Busy Places series, 1988
4. Martin Handford
5. Where's Wōrī, Japan
6. International Wallys
7. Wally appearing on a Virgin Atlantic airliner. Photo credit: Ken Fielding
8. Video: "Waldo where are you", The Simpsons
9. Where's Wally? World Record event, Dublin, 2011. Photo credit: William Murphy
10. Video: "Largest gathering of people dressed as Wally/Waldo", Guinness World Records, 2017
11. "Here's Waldo" by Roz Chast, 2023, The New Yorker / The Cartoon Bank
