DC has enjoyed a pretty strong track record with their event comics in the New 52 so far, focusing not on separate mini-series like Final Crisis or Blackest Night, but on inter-book crossovers like Throne of Atlantis and Rotworld. That new approach is informing what is already shaping up to be the biggest event storyline since the New 52 began: Trinity War.

This six-issue saga will unfold in the pages of Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark in June and July as it chronicles the re-emergence of the Trinity of Sin and the first big clash between these three teams.

Justice League's Trinity War Expands

There are still many questions leading up to Trinity War. What trinity is the title referring to exactly? How do characters like Shazam factor into the plot? How far back have writers Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemire been planning this crossover? We were able to chat with both writers recently to find out the answers to these questions and how the three titles are currently paving the way for this event.

“ Justice League titles should feel big and feel like they're the center of the DC Universe.

“ The Question almost embodies the entire approach to this storyline. He's a big mystery.

“ The ending is going to change just about everything.

There have been seeds of it since that far back. And as the New 52 grew out of that and evolved, the story kind of had elements that we were going to hit on, like obviously Pandora and the box and certain things that happen in this storyline. But Jeff and I cracked the story and what the story is really going to be about and how it was going to explore the teams and everything. It really takes a lot of threads that have been set up since Justice League #1 and even Flashpoint that pay off in Trinity War.No, not really. It happened fairly organically, because the story was in a different stage as far as what it was going to be. Once it became a Justice League-specific story I became involved, because obviously I'm writing one of the Justice League books. Once Geoff decided it would be a League-specific story, that's when it he kind of officially brought me into the process. He decided we were going to work together to break the story down.Because it's about the Justice League. And we've never done this before. I can't remember the last time there was a Justice League event along the lines of a Green Lantern event or a Batman event or a Superman event. It really grew into a Justice League-specific story about the teams and the differences between the characters on the teams. Just because they're on one team doesn't mean they'll side with that team during this storyline. It's really an exploration of what the Justice Leagues are and what the differences are between the teams and what their purposes are going forward.When Geoff and I started talking informally about me coming on Justice League Dark, one of the first things we talked about was why "Justice League" is in the title of that book. So I kind of actively tried to make that book a bigger part of the Justice League franchise and that family of books -- tying A.R.G.U.S. and Steve Trevor into it and everything. Once you had that, it became easier to make Dark become a part of this thing, because the connections were already there. We definitely talked even back then about trying to make the Justice League books feel like a family the way the Bat books feel like a family and the Green Lantern books do.Yeah, we spoke, and you came on pretty early with Justice League Dark. We talked for a while about A.R.G.U.S. and Steve Trevor and the connections they could have. They felt a little too separate for us, and they really are the same world. So we talked about bringing these books closer together and how the characters and storylines would come together, and Trinity War was an opportunity to focus on the Justice League. It was an opportunity to bring the books together rather than do a separate mini-series, and really make the books where the event is. Justice League titles should feel big and feel like they're the center of the DC Universe. That was our goal with the story.Speaking specifically to Justice League and Justice League of America, it's very antagonistic. The JLA members are undergoing training to take down the Justice League members if it ever comes to that. In Trinity War, it comes to that. Something happens where the JLA have to confront the Justice League, and things don't go down very well. And I think the Justice League look at the JLA and wonder about the government leading a team like this without any of their input or involvement.And the Justice League Dark, by the nature of what they are, they don't see themselves as being part of this bigger world of superheroes. Even though they kind of are, they don't see themselves that way. There's something about the mystery of magic that the other teams aren't really comfortable with. They're kind of the unwanted step-brother of the Justice League family. They're the outsiders. Because of that, their role and how they become involved in the story makes them pretty interesting. They see Constantine as this force and this wild card they can't control.I feel like Constantine has this chip on his shoulder that he brings to the team and their viewpoint of the other Justice Leagues. Even with Zatanna, she was kind of forced out of Justice League Dark by Constantine. She comes into this story through Justice League. She's got a new uniform that reflects more of her superhero side. It's something Constantine acknowledges. Jeff wrote that scene, and I think it's a great little scene. But it definitely bothers him. They're doing the dirty work that the Justice League either don't know about or couldn't do.I think what trinity it's referring to is a bit of a mystery tied to the whole thing, and it'll definitely be explored within the book. Is it about the Trinity of Sin? The trinity of Leagues? Is it about Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman? What does "trinity" mean? What is it all about? That's something that the story explores. The cover is beautiful and really sells the action of the story, but at its heart it's a mystery. It's a mystery that's very character-driven. And that Trinity War and what that is is at the heart of the story.I think what Geoff said about this story being more of a mystery at its heart than a blockbuster action story, that's reflected a lot in The Question. It's obviously a mystery in terms of who he is and how he's going to interact directly with the DC Universe, because we haven't seen him much. The Question really is at the heart of the mystery aspect of the book. Pandora has been there from the beginning, and Phantom Stranger has his book. This story is a great platform to introduce The Question in a really big way; I've always loved the character. To me, writing scenes with him has been the most fun so far.Yeah, The Question almost embodies the entire approach to this storyline. He's a big mystery. And you'll know who he is and what he's all about by the end of this story as well.Justice League #21 is the conclusion of the Shazam storyline that Gary and I have been doing for over a year. It really closes out this first chapter of Billy Batson as Shazam and everything with Black Adam, and it leads directly into Trinity War. Justice League #19, which is already out, and Ivan Reis and Joe Prado did a beautiful job on it, and Justice League #20 are basically the prologue to Trinity War. There are things happening here. Someone broke into the Batcave and stole the Kryptonite ring, and now Despero has it. Who did that, and why? What is the purpose behind that? The mystery of who's hacking into the Watchtower and all of that is paid off in Trinity War. So Justice League #19 and #20 and #21, the conclusion of Shazam, are all kind of setting the stage for where Justice League goes next.In Dark, we saw Zatanna leave the team at the end of the previous arc. That obviously leads into Trinity War. You'll also see the Flash join the team in this current arc. This is sort of the first chance you'll get to see one of the main Justice League members interact with the Dark team. That interaction leads toward the bigger story coming up.We have some of the best artists in the business working on these books, so it's been great. We've got Ivan Reis and Joe Prado on Justice League #22 and #23. We've got Doug Mahnke, who's coming off of Green Lantern, doing JLA #6 and #7. And Mikel Janin, who's been doing great work on Dark and is doing those Dark issues. So we've got three of the best artists in the business on this storyline. They're all partners on this.You look at that cover by Ivan and Joe, and they deliver that scope and they bring the power and action of it. But they also bring emotion, and that's something I know Jeff and I look for. The action is awesome, and the mystery and intensity and reveals are great, but there's got to be emotion behind all of it. It's got to affect the characters in a real way. Obviously the artists on this are uber important, and we've got the best.And also, I think having the three regular artists doing these three books helps keep each book's identity. Even though it's one story, each chapter keeps the identity of Justice League Dark in the Dark issues, and so on.Also, what really kicks off this story is an unexpected death and the circumstances surrounding it, and I don't think anyone's going to be to be expecting it. And it's not necessarily about the death, but the circumstances around it. When Part 1 comes out, I think it'll become very clear what kind of story this is. This is not just a "Let's put our heroes up against each other and have them fight like action figures." This is a mystery that's going to affect the teams from here on out. And the ending is going to change just about everything.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter , or Kicksplode on MyIGN