The Spanish comic classic that Arturo Pérez-Reverte recommends rereading: "I'm drowning in laughter."

Arturo Pérez-Reverte reconnects with the nostalgia of his generation through a classic of Spanish satirical comics . The writer, who often uses his social media to recommend books, movies, or personal reflections, recently shared a read that, by his own admission, makes him laugh until he's breathless. A work that left its mark on thousands of young people in 1980s Spain and, over the years, has established itself as a benchmark in graphic humor.

The RAE member, who also completed his compulsory military service, makes no secret of the fact that this rereading transports him back to that time. On his X profile , the former Twitter account, he described the author as “an absolute genius,” capable of portraying military service “with a masterful hand” and of leaving in the memory of those who experienced it scenes that are still comical and apt today. “ For many people my age, it will bring back wonderful memories ,” he noted, encouraging his followers to revisit the work.

The title in question is Historias de la puta mili (Stories of the Fucking Military Service) , by Ivá , a series of cartoons that originally appeared in the magazine El Jueves . Published in 1986, it became a generational phenomenon thanks to its sharp and corrosive take on military service, humorously reflecting everything that thousands of Spaniards experienced firsthand.

Ivá's comic that conquered a generation

Historias de la puta mili (Stories of the Fucking Military) was born at the height of the graphic humor boom in Spain. After the dictatorship, the 1980s were years of cultural fervor and greater freedom, a context that allowed comics like this one to achieve enormous popularity. Ivá, the pseudonym of Ramón Tosas, portrayed life in the barracks with wit and causticity : incompetent commanders, absurd maneuvers, vile kitchens, endless guard duty, and the myriad ways soldiers tried to survive the experience.

The most iconic character was Sergeant Arensivia , a soldier as clumsy as he was endearing , who embodied the absurdity of military service and became the emblem of the series. Around him marched all kinds of recruits: rogues, naive, rebellious, or overwhelmed by discipline, creating a mosaic of situations that mixed the comic with the absurd . This irreverent approach made Ivá one of the greatest names in Spanish comics.

Ivá's death in 1993, in a traffic accident, cut short the career of an author

It was such a success that Historias de la puta mili transcended the paper version. In the 1990s , it was adapted for theater, film (with actors such as Juan Echanove, Jordi Mollá, and Achero Mañas) , and also for television . It even had its own magazine, Puta Mili , aimed at recruits still serving in the military. Ivá's death in 1993 in a traffic accident cut short the career of an author who also left behind another iconic work, Makinavaja , but his legacy lives on in the laughter of readers like Pérez-Reverte, who enthusiastically defend it today.