We've talked before about how cool and wonderful War Wheels are, and how surprisingly common the idea has been throughout history.

Still, it may not be entirely a coincidence that a mere 3 months after this debut...

...something very similar turned up at another publisher:

But see, these aren't Nazi War Wheels...they're alien war wheels, from the world of Eboli, "behind the dark side of the moon." Don't worry, it's an Airboy thing.

Anyway, Prince Ovid and his wizened mentor have been deposed by the evil Gorga. They fled to Earth, but he's come to hunt them down.

Hunt them down with...

...WAR WHEELS!!!

And they're just as nasty as the Nazi versions!

They find the prince's crash site...

Yes, they have their own stupid alien lingo.

Fact: alien War Wheels are even more unstoppable than Nazi War Wheels!



Well, fortunately for Earth, the prince had been found boy Airboy, who has realized the one chink in the alien War Wheels' armor:


A War Wheel can be stopped...BY ANOTHER WAR WHEEL!!

One lever controls all!




The winner?

Well, Gorga dies, and Ovid returns to Eboli:

Wait...alien War Wheels can fly?? Why the hell waste time wandering around the ground, then...?!?!?!

From Airboy Comics Vol. 9 #11 (1952)

Hey, I learned a new word today!

What the hell is a Prügelknaben?

Let's start by meeting the least-likable man alive, spoiled heir Charles Stuebonne:
 
Yeah, he treats the servants well.

Fortunately, German has a perfect word for this situation (of course it does!).



Kids--always trust comics!! That's actually a pretty good translation!! Comics--is there nothing they can't teach us?

Of course, telling "Master Charles" about the concept of the Prügelknaben probably wasn't a good idea...

After getting daddy to promise to buy him a Prügelknaben, Charles has a chance encounter with Airboy...



Holy crap!!


Well, of course Charles isn't used to taking "no" for an answer.

So he makes daddy buy the company where Airboy's father is chief engineer--for three times its value!! Then they kidnap him, and frame him industrial espionage and treason!

Of course, this all has an ulterior purpose:

So, being a good son, Airboy accepts.

And Charles just can't wait to see his Prügelknaben punished!



Man, this job sucks...

And it turns out that everyone gets to abuse him!

Fortunately, Airboy stumbles onto the evidence of the frame-up...

But Charlie decides to kill the evidence!!

After a plane chase and crash...

But...



Well, that kind of sucks!

But fortunately, distraught daddy fesses up!


Everyone--use the word Prügelknaben at work today!!

From Airboy Vol 4 #7 (1947)

It turns out that there is a very practical reason that you shouldn't build your buildings too tall.

Airboy is flying around the Himalayas, because why not, when he finds a strange castaway:





Well, Airboy "rescues" the guy, taking him to England. But...

Airboy leaves him in the hands of the British health care system, and forgets about him. Some hero!

But a few months later, he discovers that "Tundra" was not just a pilot, but also an architect! And he insists on making the world's tallest building, despite derision from "fools"!




OK, that sounds perfectly sane.

But guess what? Tundra does it!



And it's all true--there are schematics!

Tundra's work is not just an architectural wonder--it's also evolving (or devolving) the human race!

Oh, yeah, and he has "solar missiles" to bomb the world's capitols!


So, not such a good neighbor...

Fortunately, Airboy manages to thwart Tundra's plan...


So remember, kids--keep those buildings low, unless you want to wipe out Europe and develop a whole race of sub-humans!! In which case, good luck!!

From Airboy #92 (1951)