IRON MAIDEN: New EDDIE 'Pop! Rocks' Figures From FUNKO Coming In February

British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN have once again teamed up with toy/collectible company Funko to create a new line of figures based around the band's legendry mascot Eddie. Due in February 2022 are "Stranger In A Strange Land" Eddie, "Somewhere In Time" Eddie, "Live After Death" Eddie, "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" Eddie and "Nights Of The Dead" Eddie. The new figures will be available from Entertainment Earth.

MAIDEN's previous Funko line of figures was based on the albums "Iron Maiden", "Killers", "The Number Of The Beast" and "Piece Of Mind".

Eddie, whose full name is Eddie The Head or Edward The Head (also known as Edward The Great),is a perennial fixture in the often-violent MAIDEN album cover art, as well as ever present in the group's live shows.

Eddie made his first appearance on MAIDEN's debut single, "Running Free", in February 1980. The skeletal character was created by illustrator Derek Riggs, who was the band's sole artist — designing album covers, single covers and t-shirts — until 1992's "Fear Of The Dark" LP, which saw MAIDEN collaborate with Melvyn Grant. Grant was also responsible for 1998's "Virtual XI" and 2010's "The Final Frontier", while Hugh Syme designed 1995's "The X Factor", Steve Stone created 2000's "Brave New World", David Patchett handled 2003's "Dance Of Death", Tim Bradsheet took the reins for 2006's "A Matter Of Life And Death", and Mark Wilkinson designed 2016's "The Book Of Souls" and 2021's "Senjutsu".

Headquartered in Everett, Washington, Funko is a leading pop culture consumer products company. Funko designs, sources and distributes licensed pop culture products across multiple categories, including vinyl figures, toys, plush, apparel, board games, housewares and accessories for consumers who seek tangible ways to connect with their favorite pop culture brands and characters.

Funko reportedly holds more than 150 licenses, including Lucas Films, Marvel, Hasbro, Disney and more. The company reported having 777 full-time employees at the end of 2020, 617 of which were based in the U.S.

After Funko's Q3 results were announced on November 4 — beating expectations on revenue and earnings per share (EPS) — CEO Brian Mariotti said: "As a credit to our brand, we are continuing to expand our product categories and fan base, increasing fan engagement and bringing innovative new products to market."

According to InvestorPlace, Funko also got into the non-fungible token market, releasing limited-edition digital card packs that include rare cards. Buyers can trade these rare cards to profit from the collectibles market.