Ok, I take back all my bad thoughts about Lulu.com. If you recall, the recent 168 Hour Comic event staged by modern day troubadour Ryan Estrada resulted in a big publishing mess when Ryan tried to put the project, Ped X-Ing, into book form using Lulu. We wrote a story about the whole thing last month.

Yesterday I received an email from Lulu and I’m sure everyone else who tried to buy Ryan’s book when it first went online got a similar message. Here is the text from what they sent me:

“Hello Lulu Customer,Previously, you had made an order on our site for Ryan Estrada’s Ped X-ing: A 168 Hour Comic (http://www.lulu.com/content/158412) . Since there was a problem with the initial order, you were refunded and did not receive the book. Fortunately, we here at Lulu have fixed the problem, and we are now sending you a replacement order free of charge. The creator, Ryan Estrada, will still receive royalties for the book.

The order is being made today, and you should see your replacement order in the mail in the next two business weeks. Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for any confusion we might have caused.“

Hot damn, talk about customer service! These guys are owning up to what happened and bending over backwards to make amends. Not only do I get the book for free now, but Ryan will still be re-imbursed for the book. The original technical issues have been worked out and Ryan’s book is now actively for sale on Lulu.com. While I stick by my original criticism of how the initial situation was handled on Lulu’s part I have to give this company a huge amount of credit for going above and beyond what most companies would do to satisfy their customers and publishers. These guys are awesome.

I know that Jin Wicked has always stood by using Lulu as a way to publish her independent comic work, but I see that there are several web comic creators now using Lulu to get their work on the printed page. The Asylumantics, Chugworth Academy, Townies, Flatwood, Melonpool, and many others are all web comics that are available as books on Lulu.

After seeing how Lulu came through for Ryan I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from them again.