Eddie Van Halen Memorialized With Funko Figurine
Funko has announced the newest collectible figurine in its Pop! Rocks line: late guitar hero Eddie Van Halen.
"Pop signed off on this way back in 2019," Wolfgang Van Halen explained via Twitter. "It's wonderful to see it finally come to fruition. So stoked with how it turned out!"
The company shared the news in a tweet, along with a preorder link. The Entertainment Earth website says it's coming in January, while Amazon says it will be released on March 15.
The Van Halen Funko Pop features Van Halen's signature red, white and black Frankenstrat, a red handkerchief tied around his neck, a white sleeveless shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. The figurine also sports the shag haircut from the shredder's early days and an open-mouthed grin, just like the one Van Halen constantly wore onstage.
Van Halen is the latest in a long line of rock- and metal-themed Funko Pops. Back in July, the company revealed two new figurines honoring Iron Maiden's famous mascot Eddie. One figurine is inspired by the Somewhere in Time album cover and shows a cyborg Eddie wearing futuristic headgear and holding a ray gun. Meanwhile, the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Funko shows a lobotomized Eddie holding a heart, once again reflecting the album cover.
Other rock legends recently memorialized in the Funko line include Jimi Hendrix, Pearl Jam, Green Day, John Lennon, AC/DC, Motorhead and Aerosmith. The Hendrix figure captures the late guitar god as he appeared during a July 30, 1970, concert in Hawaii, a performance that was finally released in 2020 on the Live in Maui LP.
Lennon, meanwhile, is shown wearing the army jacket that he donned during his 1972 performance at Madison Square Garden, which was posthumously released on 1986's Live in New York City.