Eddie van halen & joan jett

Having evolved beyond the rigid parameters and constrained creativity, clenched fists and blank expressions that Pop figures suffered from in the early days, Funko’s design team has taken to experimenting more and more with movement in recent years. Once we abandoned the notion that figures were required to balance on their own two feet and stands could be incorporated into the pose, it opened up all sorts of creative possibilities. Rock stars, in particular, were no longer forced to remain earthbound - as evidenced by these recent Eddie Van Halen and Joan Jett additions to the “Pop Rocks” line. Let’s take a closer look --

Eddie - depicted mid-leap - lives up to the namesake of his band’s biggest hit (spoilers: it's "Jump"). By far the coolest detail is that he’s armed with his iconic “Frankenstrat” guitar, complete with its signature red-white-and-black finish. And as you can see from the above picture, the design of his outfit - the red kerchief, the sleeveless shirt adorned with a dice print, the patched jeans - is anything but incidental. Eddie’s hair ripples appreciably to convey a sense of motion, but what’s really interesting here is his expression. There’s quite a bit of debate in Pop circles regarding the subject of mouths - some feel they should be absolutely off-limits (though there’s slightly more leeway with animated characters), while others think they make the figures more expressive and should become more commonplace. I tend to lean towards the former… and yet, it’s impossible to picture this Van Halen Pop without the infectious grin. It really captures the energy and joyousness with which Eddie performed on-stage. ​

Joan Jett’s figure, meanwhile, captures the rock legend at the apex of one of her vertical stage springs. Like Eddie, she’s not shredding just any old guitar - that’s her signature white Gibson Melody Maker that she bought from Eric Carmen of The Raspberries. Her jet-black mane is spot-on, as is her all-black outfit with the red kicks. As you can see from the pic, they even got her armbands just right (studded bracelet on the left wrist, red bandana wrapped around the right), as well as the zippers at the cuff of her leather pants and the detailing on her guitar strap. No mouth needed here; her sharp, slanted eyebrows are enough to convey her rock ’n roll game face. Whereas Eddie exudes exhilaration, she’s pure badass. The common denominator, however, is that neither figure would be half as memorable if they weren’t allowed to jam in mid-air.