checking
Explanation
The Joke
The comic presents three panels showing the evolution of automated text-checking software across time. In the first panel, labeled something like "Back to topic," a spell checker asks "Did you mean to write 'roommate' instead of 'roomate'?" with a "Thanks, spell checker!" response — a helpful and welcome correction. In the second panel, set in the "current" era, a grammar checker asks "Did you mean to say 'to' instead of 'to'?" (or a similar grammar correction), which is still somewhat useful. In the third panel, set in "the horrible future," a "merit checker" asks "Did you mean to write something good instead of an utterly derivative fantasy novel?" — brutally judging the quality and originality of the writing itself.
The comic traces a logical progression from correcting spelling to correcting grammar to, eventually, correcting the artistic merit of your work. Each step is a natural extension of the previous one, but the final step crosses from helpful tool into savage literary critic.
The Humor
The comedy comes from the escalation pattern — each generation of checker becomes more judgmental and personal. Spell checkers fix typos, grammar checkers fix syntax, and the hypothetical future "merit checker" eviscerates your creative ambitions entirely. The writer's defeated reaction in the final panel captures the universal fear that technology will eventually be able to objectively confirm that your creative work is bad. It also plays on the experience every writer has of feeling judged by their own tools.
References
The comic references the familiar experience of using spell-check and grammar-check tools in word processors like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, which have become increasingly sophisticated over the years with AI-powered writing suggestions.