Readers consistently call and e-mail to say: "Don't let Pat Bagley die and don't fire him."

That's a Utah expression of the love Tribune subscribers have for Bagley, this newspaper's editorial cartoonist for the last 27 years.

After graduating from Brigham Young University, Bagley did caricatures at a shopping mall for a summer and dabbled in graphic art work. Then he discovered the Tribune was one of the last newspapers of its size not to have an editorial cartoonist, so he applied for the job. He was hired by former Editor Art Deck, who was embroiled in some sort of internecine battle with an assistant editor who did not want an editorial cartoonist.

Working off skills he developed working for The Daily Universe at BYU - where "cartooning was like shooting fish in a barrel" - Bagley says he started taking potshots at just about everything that happened at the Legislature and all things Utah as well as at national topics of particular interest to Tribune readers.

It took him six or seven years to develop his distinctive style and get comfortable. In the process, he spent a period of time drawing on sheets of paper that cost $10 each. "Now I draw on sheets of copier paper with a 99-cent felt tip pen." For Sundays, he uses watercolors to provide the final touch.

Editorial cartooning was a profession that fit not only his natural art abilities, but also his mindset. He studied history and political science at BYU. But, believe me, he has taken those interests to an art form that has made him an institution in Utah. If he takes a vacation, readers call, panicked about where he is.

Don't worry, Bagley says he loves Utah. But he can be tough on it, too. "I have a real love of the absurd," Bagley says. "Everyone is absurd in the eyes of God. We are all a bit nuts. I apply that to everyone."

And, Bagley's an equal opportunity absurdist. "If most of us were Presbyterians, I would be applying my eye to that."

But, in Utah, he sees the predominant religious influence as Mormon. "The influence of the church is so great that they do not have to tell the Legislature what to do, the legislators know what the church wants done." And, he pecks away at that almost daily. Readers have grown used to seeing Utah legislators depicted with tails growing out of their suit pants over the last year, because the Legislature keeps dealing with the issue of teaching evolution. The lapel pin he made for this year's session included the dark-suited, monkey-tailed legislator and the slogan "Evolution is just a theory."

The lapel pin tradition started before the 2002 Winter Olympics when a promoter asked Bagley to design six pins, including the Utah Democrat - an Endangered Species, the Jack Mormon, the Green Jell-O Mormon Soul Food, the 7 Brides for 1 Brother and the Utah: a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Mormon Church. They were wildly popular, which surprised Bagley, since it was his first venture into pins.

Bagley is the father of two sons, Buzz and Alec. Both youngsters have artistic talents, but are not sure what they will do. Buzz, demonstrating his father's droll sense of humor at an early age, chose his name, Buzz, in kindergarten. Asked by his father why he chose it, the boy replied, "Because it's a fast name, Dad."

In an era when the ranks of newspapers with their own editorial cartoonists are shrinking, Bagley says: "I do what no one else can do. I draw about state and local issues. Other papers can buy syndicated cartoons for their editorial pages, but they won't get local cartoons from the syndicates."

No, they won't. On April 21, Bagley drew a cartoon of Sen. Orrin Hatch, after Hatch admitted he got information on global warming from a Michael Crichton novel. The cartoon intimated that Hatch got information on Catholicism from "The DaVinci Code," on finding Bin Laden from "Where's Waldo," and on Saddam's links to 9/11 from "Mad Magazine."

Hatch called Bagley on Monday for a signed copy of the cartoon.

Only in Utah.

Number of people upset about tiny type in weekly TV book

29

Number of people asking where "Click and Clack" are (Answer: in the Sunday automotive advertising section on the second page)

8

Number of people who want more boxing coverage

17

Number of people upset about wet papers on rainy days

74

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The Reader Advocate's phone number is 801-257-8782. Write to the Reader Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, 90 S. 400 West, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. reader.advocate@sltrib.com