History:
(Tower of Shadows#2/3 (fb)) - <prehistoric era> - A member of a tribe of cavemen was hunted down by the others when they learned he was "different". They chased him into a subterranean cave behind a waterfall, where he hid. But as the lone caveman grew hungry, he found a new source of food in the endless cacophony of the waterfall. He stayed there for an untold number of centuries, feeding off the thundering sound of the waterfall that flowed over the cave, even as his body began to change.

(Tower of Shadows#2/3) - But over time, the prehistoric mutant's food source ran out as the waterfall dried up.

(Tower of Shadows#2/3 - BTS) - In need of a new food supply, the Hungry One returned to the surface, where it somehow caused an explosion in a New Jersey forest which destroyed a large circular area. It found its way through the forest, feeding on the local sounds of nature as it crawled. It eventually slithered into an abandoned house and crawled up the staircase.

(Tower of Shadows#2/3) - Denny and Shiela were walking about in the forest when they came upon a barren circular area (which had been destroyed by the Hungry One); the two then found the old house and decided to check it out. But right after they entered, Denny's foot broke through a rotten floorboard, and he cried out in pain -- the sound attracted the attention of the Hungry One upstairs. Shiela was working at freeing Denny's wedged foot when they saw a glow coming from the staircase, and the Hungry One came crawling back down, hoping to glean food from the two. When the blob-like creature touched her with its tentacle, Shiela screamed in terror; the Hungry One began to glow and its size increased slightly.

   As the creature attempted to touch her again, Sheila pleaded with Denny to do something. Noticing that the blob glowed whenever they spoke, Denny correctly guessed that it fed off sound, so he began to play his guitar to distract the Hungry One, while Shiela pulled his leg free.

   The two then fled from the house and ran into the forest, while the Hungry One chased after them, burning a path through the plant-life as it followed. Denny and Shiela headed back to the barren area, with the noticeably smaller blob-like creature close behind. Within the Hungry One's mind, it had but one desperate, silent thought: "PLEASE... MAKE A SOUND! SCREAM! SO THAT THIS ONE MAY LIVE!"

   As the weakened creature caught up with them, Denny and Shiela turned to see the shrunken and almost-dead Hungry One reach out one last time, hoping to cause Shiela to scream again  -- whether she did or not, or if the Hungry One survived or perished, is unrevealed.

Comments: Created by Neal Adams and Dan Adkins.

This 7-page story--"ONE HUNGERS"--was introduced by Headstone P. Gravely, but it was narrated from the Hungry One's primitive perspective -- the Hungry One had no malevolent intentions for Denny and Shiela, for it was starving and only wanted to live.

Here are images of the Hungry One's original form -- judging by his unusual orange eye-color, it's probably a safe bet to assume he was some kind of mutant.

Although the ending of the story was left unresolved, it could always be revealed that Sheila screamed and the Hungry One survived, so she adopted it as a "pet" -- the cost of "pet-food" would be negligible.

Considering its power, maybe the Hungry One would be of some interest to Klaw -- Ron Fredricks

He's only referred to as "The Hungry One" on the cover. Most of the time, he refers to himself as "This One."

    Slightly confusing story, but a fairly sympathetic monster in a weird way.

New images by Ron Fredricks.