That's EXACTLY what I am aiming for...EXACTLY what I have been thinking!!!! that was evident to me the other night when I was in B&N, and was trying to tell a fellow writer about it, but got swarmed by a bunch of the Japanime/manga fans, who didnt want to hear me say "gee I wish there were more AMERICAN stories!"
Im getting an itch in my palm that maybe thats a field that needs some exploring...hmmm??
There's a market for it. The web comic I pointed you to is sold in book form at bookstores, it's a respected entry in the field these days. They attracted the audience online, first, which might be your way to go. Take some time at look at the world of webcomics - Sluggy Freelance and MegaTokyo are the most succesful but there are a lot with devoted fans. If you're good enough, you can get published in dead-tree format.
Haunt some art boards; someone there will be looking for a writing partner!
And read some manga, even if it's not your thing, to get an idea of what the market is right now. (Try a volume each of Bleach, Fruits Basket and Ruruoni Kenshin. In the store, you don't have to buy them. Those three are very good art-wise, story-wise, they're popular and they're all very different.) Might help you out a little....