Martin Handford

Martin Handford (born 27 September 1956) is an English children's author and illustrator from London who gained worldwide fame in the mid-1980s for his Where's Wally? book series (known as Where's Waldo? in North America).

Early life Born in London, Handford was a solitary child to divorced parents. He began drawing when he was about 5 years old, using stick figures on paper to recreate crowded battle scenes that he witnessed in films such as The Alamo (1960), or drawings by Cornelius DeWitt in The Golden History of the World, Handford's favorite book. He stated, "I have always done pictures of crowds... miniature pictures with lots of activity, usually with a sense of humor." He also drew inspiration from his toy soldiers, which he frequently arranged. He also took on freelance illustration work and specialised in crowd scenes, working with clients in media and advertising. Handford said in 1993 that there was "no other significance in the clothing" besides being distinctive.

Handford initially felt that Wally was a trainspotter, and said "When I originally thought of the character who was lost in all these scenes, I just imagined that the reason why he was lost was because he was slightly idiotic and didn't know where he was going." He made £2.5 million in this sale. He said in 1990, "If I'm not working on my pictures, I get very fidgety and bored."

In the early 1990s, he married an artist, Elizabeth, and they had a son and a daughter in the following years. Similarities between Handford and Wally have been frequently noted, with both sharing a long chin, prominent glasses, distinct smile, polite nature, and a penchant for reading and observing. Handford has claimed that the supposed resemblances are coincidental. Unlike Wally, Handford dislikes crowded places and rarely travels.

Though Where's Wally? avoids depictions of violence, Handford said "It doesn't mean I'm oblivious to the actual savagery that a lot of mankind has been capable of". Handford stated, "My only regret in life is I would love to have been in a pop group. Seriously." He was in a punk band during art school and describes the group as "quite obnoxious". In 1990, The New York Times reported that he had "no desire for a bigger house, and spends most of his money on art supplies, illustrated books, old comics, and still more toy soldiers."