2013-02-20
Explanation
This comic is set at what appears to be an addiction support group meeting. A red-haired man named Bob stands up and begins the classic introduction: "Hi... my name is Bob, and... I'''m addicted..." In the next panel, he finishes his sentence with a twist: "Addicted to attending addiction meetings!" A woman in the group angrily responds: "How dare you?! People are trying to get help for a serious problem! Why would you ever use that sort of humor in here?!" The final panel zooms out to reveal a sign reading "Meta-Humorists Anonymous," showing that the entire group is itself a support meeting for people addicted to self-referential humor.
The joke is a layered exercise in meta-humor. Bob'''s joke about being addicted to addiction meetings is already self-referential, but the reveal that this is "Meta-Humorists Anonymous" adds another level: the woman scolding Bob for his meta-joke is herself at a meeting for people who can'''t stop making exactly that kind of joke. The comic is itself a meta-joke about meta-jokes, creating a recursive loop of self-reference that is characteristic of SMBC'''s intellectual comedy style.
The votey panel extends the recursion further, with Bob (or a similar character) saying "I'''m addicted to confessions" and someone off-panel shouting "Stop it!" -- yet another meta-confession within the context of a confessional meeting, adding one more layer to the already deeply nested joke.