Is it making it easier? I feel like having to parse a comic like this is more cognitively demanding than just RTFCode, and I'd still have to review the code afterward to confirm its accuracy and whether the approach is sensical.

I'd rather just have a high-level summary in English for that.

This seems to take dumbing-down beyond any sensible level.

People who dumb down seem to think it's easier to be dumb. Not everyone seems to agree, fortunately.