in-the-loop
Explanation
The Joke
This is a lengthy multi-panel comic that follows the process of creating and approving a new law or policy, satirizing the absurd complexity of bureaucratic and legislative processes. The comic shows various stages -- committees, meetings, debates, votes, amendments, and approvals -- each one adding another layer of procedure, review, and rubber-stamping. At each stage, someone asks if the others agree, and they emphatically do ("YES!"), yet the process continues to escalate with more reviews, more sign-offs, and more procedures.
The joke is that the entire elaborate, multi-step process is ultimately pointless or circular. Despite enormous effort, countless meetings, and enthusiastic unanimous agreement at every stage, the end result is buried in bureaucracy. The comic depicts a system where everyone is "in the loop" -- meaning everyone is consulted and involved -- but the loop itself is so convoluted that being in it is more of a trap than a benefit.
The Humor
The humor is in the relentless escalation of bureaucratic process. Each panel adds yet another step, committee, or approval that seems completely redundant given the unanimous enthusiasm at every prior stage. It parodies how institutional decision-making can become so process-heavy that the actual substance of what is being decided becomes irrelevant -- what matters is that every stakeholder was "in the loop." The comic satirizes corporate and governmental bureaucracy where the process itself becomes the product, and the final output (a book labeled something like "Yes, You May Also Make a Decision") is comically anticlimactic compared to the enormous machinery that produced it.