The Man of a Thousand Locales

He is everywhere. He is nowhere. His stagnant glare is forever looking back at you from the shadows. It's difficult to fathom this one man can wear a single outfit for an entire lifetime yet be incredibly difficult to spot in a crowd. One would think that being fully aware of this man's wardrobe, color combination, and accessories would give someone the upper hand in determining his whereabouts. His willpower to remain hidden and out of plain sight severely outweighs the focus and perseverance of the one's who wish to sniff the breadcrumbs he lays down behind. This man lacking a last name has travelled to more locations and eras in time than Doc Brown and his famed Delorean. Who can he be? More importantly however, where is he?

When I first opened a book from Martin Handford's "Where's Waldo?" series well over a decade ago, I was instantly awe-struck. I remember not being able to focus on a single illustration since my eyes were constantly wandering. The concept of looking for this random man in this random setting with hundreds if not thousands of random 'decoys' engaged in random acts was nothing short of mind boggling. I cannot emphasize enough how much time I'd spend attempting to distinguish him from the hordes of lookalikes.

The oversized pages allowed for the attention to detail to stand out incredibly. Each illustration had their own characteristics which separated them from the previous page, this also includes how each and every one of the figures stood out from one another without seeming monotonous or half-assed by the author. This reinforced the fact that a concept as difficult as finding a needle in a stack of needles can be simplified by searching for the red and white hues of a horizontally striped sweater. Amidst the similarly colored backgrounds, foregrounds, and also the clothing of the 'decoys', successfully locating Waldo is no easy feat.

Martin Handford made it possible to notice the little things, literally. Wherever my eyes made contact, I remained entertained regardless if Waldo was anywhere nearby. The "Where's Waldo?" series isn't just about finding this now iconic man, but also about noticing and appreciating the world around him.