We get the opening pleasantries of the Hellfire Gala and the departure of the shocked guests at the end and NONE of the meat in between. Some decent (but thin-spread) character moments are the only real highlights.

I don't hold "continuity gags that go over my head" against a comic, but that's far from this issue's only offense. The couture element is an embarrassing failure; these are bad designs badly rendered. And cutting straight from intro to epilogue in a misguided attempt to build tension for subsequent issues is the kiss of death as far as I'm concerned. I agree this would make a nice free preview; pretending it's a complete comic by itself is just infuriating.