pino
Explanation
This is a long-form comic retelling (or riffing on) the story of Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who wants to become a real boy. The comic appears to follow Pinocchio through various adventures and misadventures, presented in a series of panels with narration.
The comic takes the classic fairy tale and reimagines it with a more cynical, adult lens. The story of Pinocchio -- a puppet who must prove his worth to become "real" -- is used as a vehicle to explore themes about authenticity, what it means to be human, and the arbitrary nature of the tests society imposes on people to prove they deserve personhood or acceptance.
The humor comes from applying modern, skeptical sensibilities to a children's story, a common SMBC technique. By taking the premise of Pinocchio seriously and examining its implications, the comic finds absurdity in a story we normally accept without question. The title "pino" is a truncation of "Pinocchio," and the comic uses the fairy tale framework to deliver social commentary about the hoops people are expected to jump through to be considered worthy or "real" members of society. The long format allows Weinersmith to build up the narrative before delivering his satirical payload.