@Maxy:
I was just saying in another thread about the whole age thing. western comics they're all usually old and balding in the mainstream because they have to prove themselves first, whilst the Japanese mainstream IS where the newcomers prove themselves. That's kinda amazing when you think about it, huh
No, in America you start young too. Its just that, without a huge stroke of luck, (Like say, landing a gig on X-Men or Spiderman, or getting paired with an already popular artist/writer where people take notice of you immediately) it takes a looooong time to get momentum and build a name. Consider that anyone who was a founder at image has been doing it for more than 20 years… closer to 30. Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman and Peter David have been doing it decades. Robert Kirkman's success on Invincible and Walking Dead took ten years to build, and he was doing comics for years and years before that. I've been a published pro for almost fourteen years and no one has any idea who I am. Stan Sakai, Fred Perry and Eric Larsen are all at around issue 200 of their series (Usagi, Gold Digger, Savage Dragon) and that takes 20 years to do.
Also, in manga the creators are generally both artist and writer and pumping out product weekly, as opposed to random teams in america which is... more mixed up and harder to develop a following. (Though more prolific writers work on multiple books a month)
The difference is, the entire medium is treated differently. Jump is read by millions, and anything that runs for two years is likely to get an anime. American comics... are read by thousands and only the best known characters get shows. (Batman gets a new cartoon as soon as one ends, but Superman is hard pressed to get one, and Flash and Wonder Woman never will... and those are the BIG names!)
So... its not so much everyone in american comics is old... as much as it is the people you actually know about that have talent are.
--- Update From New Post Merge ---
@Maxy:
Which leads me to wonder what it was like when Dragon Ball was in its fighting prime.
Yu Yu Hakusho, Slam Dunk, Fist of the Northstar, Kenshin?