Writer: Len Kaminski
Penciller: Aluir Amancio
Inker: Claude St. Aubin
Colorist: Gloria Vasquez.
The Justice League of America, mightiest assembly of superheroes in the DC Universe, has undergone many changes over the years. In 2001, DC Comics decided to revive the classic, "all-star" version of league for the new millennium, and generated interest with a 6-issue series that culminated with the first issue of the new Justice League series. Each comic featured a different first-issue "Justice League" in a self-contained story. However, these stories each contained a piece of a larger tale. And so we had Justice Leagues: ?, the Justice League of Amazons, the Justice League of Atlantis, the Justice League of Arkham, the Justice League of Aliens, and finally, Justice League of America #1.
The Justice League of Amazons begins with an apparent battle between ecoterrorists and an evil corporation. How evil? Well, they have ties to Lex Luthor, and their boardroom table is the stump of an old-growth tree, that "symbolizes what this company stand for: the earth belongs to man, for his exploitation." See? They're really evil.
Enter some women to settle the matter, the Justice League of Amazons.
Wonder Woman, DC's oldest super-female and a genuine Amazon, heads the team, which also includes Supergirl, the Huntress, Big Barda, Zatanna, Power Girl, and Black Orchid. "We have," the Amazon Princess declares, "a unique perspective and a responsibility to use our powers and abilities to protect and defend mother earth and her children." This prepares for a somewhat preachy story, which brings our Amazons to the Amazon in Brazil, where nefarious and environmental-despoiling evil is afoot-- and all connected, of course, with the "Justice Leagues" series villain.
In fact, while the League defeats the lesser villains, the major player manages to manipulate their actions to serve his own end; readers have to wait for the first issue of the revised Justice League of America to see him fed his just deserts.
We also get a good look at comicdom's ambivalent view of strong women. These gals kick ass-- and they display quite a bit of it, too. It's a wonder that either Wonder Woman or Power Girl's costumes can contain their pneumatic figures. Supergirl was in her "Britney Spears" phase and dresses like a table-dancer, while Zatanna wears that most protective of legwear, fishnet stockings. Black Orchid wears nothing, but this suits a plant-creature. The Huntress goes for the classic superhero skintight bodysuit. Only Barda manages anything suited for battle. Clearly, the concept of bulletproof nudity holds sway. The comic even ends with a bathing/beach-basking scene, deep in the Brazilian forest. This metahuman version of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition lasts only a few panels, before Aquaman of Atlantis turns up to recruit Power Girl for the next chapter in the saga.
As a bonus, the Justice League of Anarchy makes an appropriately non-sequitur appearance. This league apparently consists of Plastic Man, Harlequin, The Creeper, Ambush Bug, Trickster, and the toony 'Mazing Man, who isn't even supposed to exist in DC continuity. They wander through a single panel, searching for a radioactive wetsuit, a bucket of soapy frogs, and a dog on roller skates.
Justice League of Amazons makes no major contribution to comic-book history, but it does provide a one-issue look at DC's most prominent super-females as they existed in 2001. | 
