Where Does the Rainbow End?-An Advanced Review
- David Barclay
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
WHERE DOES THE RAINBOW END? #1
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Writer: Francesca Perillo
Artist: Stefano Cardoselli
Colorist: Lorenzo Scaramella
Letterer: Buddy Beaudoin
Release Date: 01/14/2026
Where to Buy: Directly from Mad Cave Studios or your LCS
Price: $3.99 Digital, $4.99 Physical from Mad Cave and the LCS
Publisher Synopsis: A dramatic prequel to the hit story Love Me: A Romance Story, written by Francesca Perillo and drawn by Stefano Cardoselli. This story addresses universal themes of friendship, family, equality, and finding one’s own truth. Gilda has been abandoned by her parents, but fortunately, she has been discovered in the Cacace Bros. Robot Dump…and has been raised by the robots who discovered her. She was lucky to be found in the Rainbow Sector by robots that cared for her. However, she has also been shielded from the outside world, other humans, and from a dangerous section of their robot world called the Dark Cage, where the most hostile of robots live. Word has spread about her ability to fix robots, though, and one vicious robot from the Dark Cage wants her to repair all of the violent robots that live there…and nothing will stop him. Artist Stefano Cardoselli (Don’t Spit In The Wind, Long Cold Winter) and writer Francesca Perillo (Long Cold Winter) reunite once again in this exciting prequel to their hit story Love Me: A Romance Story.
Review
There is a moment early into Where Does the Rainbow End? that caught me completely off guard. It had nothing to do with plot twists or cliff-hangers. I read a lot of comics at my desk. My kids pass by constantly, used to seeing their dad buried in panels and speech bubbles. But while reading this first issue, something new happened. My youngest daughter, six years old and usually far more interested in K-pop Demon Hunters than indie sci-fi, stopped, stared at the page, and said, “Wow. What is that?” She sat beside me and wanted to see more. That moment captures exactly what Where Does the Rainbow End? #1 does so well. It is an emotionally driven sci-fi debut that trusts its art and its audience to do the heavy lifting.
“Wow. What is that?” She sat beside me and wanted to see more. That moment captures exactly what Where Does the Rainbow End? #1 does so well.
A World You Feel before You Understand
The cover alone is gorgeous. Rough-edged, textured, and alive with feeling, it communicates warmth and care before a single page is turned. The alternate cover offers a smoother, cleaner take, but it is the main cover’s rawness that sets the emotional tone for the issue.
Inside, the visual storytelling remains confident and purposeful. An opening map grounds the setting quickly, followed by striking imagery. A worn Statue of Liberty pushed to the background. New York overshadowed by looming industrial structures. The symbolism is clear without being clumsy. This is a world where humanity’s ideals survive only as distant landmarks beneath rust, waste, and machinery.
Robots as Caregivers, not Curiosities
(minor spoilers)
Ralph, the first robot we meet, is immediately likable. His rounded design, wide smile, and gentle manner humanise him before dialogue ever tries to. Cardoselli’s use of body language does much of the storytelling. Ralph speaking to birds. Ralph dwarfed by the scale of the landfill. Even robots feel small within systems built to outlast them.
When Ralph discovers an abandoned baby, later named Gilda, the imagery is quietly devastating. A towering mechanical figure standing protectively over a tiny basket. A metal hand gently clasped by a human one. A hug that feels sincere rather than symbolic. These moments work because the panels are allowed to breathe. Silence carries emotion.
Odette and Jackson expand the emotional palette without overcomplicating it. Odette’s blunt pragmatism balances Ralph’s softness, while Jackson quickly establishes himself as the group’s emotional punching bag. Their dynamic is light, functional, and revealing. Even small details, such as robots understanding the importance of flowers, reinforce the book’s central idea. These machines do not simply operate. They care.
A towering mechanical figure standing protectively over a tiny basket. A metal hand gently clasped by a human one. A hug that feels sincere rather than symbolic. These moments work because the panels are allowed to breathe. Silence carries emotion.
Found Family, Earned
As Gilda grows, the book shifts into warm, economical montages. Shared meals. Daily routines. Spaghetti nights that feel instantly recognisable. It is domestic, human, and sincere. When Gilda becomes skilled enough to repair robots herself, the emotional symmetry is perfect. She now cares for those who raised her.
That warmth makes the creeping tension more effective. A human truck driver glimpses Gilda and instinctively knows something is wrong. No explanation is required. We understand it because we feel it. The arrival of Victor One sharpens that dread immediately. Jagged, angular, and aggressive, Victor’s design clashes violently with the rounded warmth of the Rainbow Sector. Red speech bubbles underline the danger clearly and effectively.
The issue wisely avoids rushing its confrontation. Instead of delivering the expected collision, the final pages introduce another variable. Gilda encounters another human child. It is a smart narrative pivot that replaces immediate threat with unsettling possibility.
A Confident First Step
Where Does the Rainbow End? #1 is an assured, emotionally grounded series debut. Francesca Perillo’s dialogue is controlled and precise, never crowding the art or over-explaining emotional beats. Cardoselli’s artwork is the book’s greatest strength, allowing panels to speak for themselves and trusting the reader to listen.
The world feels familiar enough to enter comfortably, but distinct enough to remain unpredictable. The only lingering question is whether the book can maintain this quiet emotional subtlety as the external conflict escalates. If this opening issue is any indication, the creative team understands exactly what makes this story work.
I finished the issue wanting to continue, not out of obligation, but genuine curiosity. Any comic that can stop a six-year-old mid-stride and make her stare in wonder is doing something rare, and very right.
Where Does the Rainbow End? #1 is an assured, emotionally grounded series debut. Francesca Perillo’s dialogue is controlled and precise, never crowding the art or over-explaining emotional beats. Cardoselli’s artwork is the book’s greatest strength, allowing panels to speak for themselves and trusting the reader to listen.
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