Today we’d like to introduce you to Joeming Dunn.
Hi Joeming, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am not sure what story you want. I believe I have been very fortunate in my life. My parents both immigrated to the United States in the mid 1960’s to Louisville, Kentucky where my father got his PhD in Anatomy from the University of Lousiville. I was born in Louisville. Soon after I was born our family moved to San Antonio and my father got a job at the time the newly built Medical School (University of Texas Health Science Center). I remember as a child it was a bit of a economic and cultural struggle for my parents but as many immigrant families have shown they worked hard and perservered. I was lucky to go to good schools while growing up, I was one of the first students to go to Solomon Schechter (a Jewish School) and yes it was unusual to see an asian at the school since the first class had like 9 students. I then went to public school (Oak Hills Terrace and then Thunderbill Hills) and then private school (St. Luke’s and then Central Catholic). I had the typical ups and downs at school but was mostly nerdified with collecting comics, playing video games and role playing games like Dungeon’s and Dragons. I was an average student for the most part until the middle of my sophomore year of high school where I had a realization I was going to leave school and better figure something out.
So I did much better in the latter half of school and was fortunate to get a decent scholarship to Austin College in Sherman, Texas. I had tried for a scholarship to St. Mary’s University but failed to get it. At AC I majored in Chemistry with an intention to be a math or science teacher I student taught for one month and decided I did not have the patience to be a teacher so I talked to my college mentor and he said I had the pre-requisites to go to medical school. So I buckled down and was accepted to the University of Texas at Galveston where I got my Medical Degree. I then went to Dallas to do my internship and residency and also married my college sweetheart. My life took a turn at this time so I am not sure what direction you want to discuss.
1) The first is, at the time my brother was a comic book artist who started a small Independent comic publishing company called Antarctic Press. While my brother is a very good artist he was not the greatest when it came to accounting and logistics. So at some point he asked for my help in all that so I helped him manage that company and it still exists today
2) The second is over the years as I mentioned before I collected comics and at one point had 100’s of boxes of comics. So around the same time I decided to open a comic shop called King Arthur’s Comics and it was successful so I moved to a bigger location and called it Excalibur Comics and Video. It did well and I eventually sold it. That person then sold it to another person. Well one of my ex-employees at Excalibur wanted to buy the store from him and asked for my help. Which I did and I became a minority owner of the store which is called Dragon’s Lair Comics and Fantasy.
3) Lastly I am also still a Medical Doctor and did not go the traditional route for that. My father as I mentioed before was a professor at the Medical Center but also a very successful acupuncturist. He knew he was not going to do it much longer so he asked me to take over which I did and have been practicing medicine and acupuncture for the past 30 years.
All these directions have been a part of my life so I am not sure what part you want the details.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Each of those life pathways I have taken have had their ups and downs. I will say I have been lucky to have supportive family, friends and co-workers to get through all of it. I have always have the attitude that life is going to be unfair at some point in your life and you either deal with it or let it beat you down. I have always chosen to try to deal with the problems, obstacles and challenges and see where it takes you.
What matters most to you?
As with most my family and friends are the most important to me as they care for me as I care for them the most. In each of my professions I hope to see everyone thrive and be happy. At my clinic I want my patients to get better and improve their quality of life, at the comic store, I enjoy seeing the social interaction and discussions between people as they play trading card games, In the comic publishing industry I enjoy seeing people give into escapism. Life is to short without happiness and enjoyment,
