Mint is a based on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian, so the guy on the left. The comic implies that it's easy but not quite as easy as Fedora. I would say that it is easier to use than Fedora.
Setup is simple and unless you've got something unusual going on on your computer, then everything will just work. Since it's based on Ubuntu, most Ubuntu information will also apply to Mint, and that's nice because there is a lot of information about Ubuntu.
Not everyone would care about this, but I personally don't like chasing updates and constantly installing the latest versions of things. All Debian distributions favor stability over cutting edge features, whereas some distributions are set up to try to get the latest changes quickly. Ubuntu leans very slightly toward cutting edge compared to stock Debian, but Ununtu has Long Term Support (LTS) releases which are supported for, I think, 5 years. Ubuntu also have other releases with shorter support times. If you're using Ubuntu and favor stability, you need to pay a little attention to what you're installing. Mint is based only on Ubuntu LTS releases, so Mint favors stability.
It's mostly a clean installation. You can copy the contents of your home directory, which is where personal configuration files are stored, in the hopes that some stuff will transfer, but surely that won't be complete.
You could also try dual booting, installing two OSes and you'd choose which to run at start up. You can configure these so that files on one are accessible from the other. This is pretty easy to do if you're even slightly tech savvy.
I've found that the shiney new features are usually buggy. If you're into helping improve things, using and fixing the new stuff is a great way to contribute. If you're reasonably tech savvy, you're going to be able to figure out any distribution. With few exceptions, they're all easy enough to use. I even doubt the portrayal of Arch in this comic. If you're not into developing stuff or just want to get your feet wet before diving in more, starting with Mint is easy. And it's also easy enough to switch or expand if you decide to try something different later. There's not a lot of lock in with Linux stuff.