CSS for dropcap image with text aligned over blank part

Question

I don't think this is an everyday dropcap situation.

My dropcap, for an uppercase letter "S", is this image:

Note that the actual image extends as far as the overbar. The overbar is part of the same image that contains the large S and the drawing to the left of the S. I have colored the background blue so it can easily be seen here, but the natural color is white. (But ignore the extra gray area at extreme top, that was clumsiness in doing the screen capture.) I do not wish to break up the overbar and the image. The image as provided to me is as shown -- a rectangular area, with an overbar drawn at top right and with whitespace underneath the overbar.

I would like the text to look like this (created using paint.net):

Note that the first line of text is aligned with the bottom of the dropcap "S"; the first three lines are sitting on top of the white area in the image, and the fourth through sixth lines are left-aligned with the page margin.

Note also that the text must overlay the white part of the image.

Note also that I cannot guarantee the total text width; this is going to be an EPUB, viewable on multiple devices. Therefore position:absolute should definitely be avoided.

Here is the HTML for what I have tried so far, shorn almost entirely of relevant CSS:

<p class="dropcap-para">
<img width=135 height=108 style="float:left" src="image002.jpg" alt="dropcap S"></img>
<span class="funky-text">HE ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt 
ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco 
laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in 
voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat 
non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</span>

Thanks.

Answer 1

EDITED by OP: I've edited this answer, which was very close to what I wanted, to match my exact use case.

One of those auto S.O. suggested web links ("vertical-align-text-next-to-an-image") offers ideas (and another link (epub knowledge).
This example we've posted uses transform translate.

There are other factors to think about when it comes to eBooks.... Bear in mind that an eBook user can change the font size in a 'reflowable' eBook (which we presume is your goal). Each eBook reader is likely going to set their preferred font size differently. You will need to consider that factor too. Perhaps a string of @media commands for various potential font sizes a reader is likely to choose. This example was tested in FF, Chrome, Edge.

To prep this further to suit your project:

1. add your background image URL.
2. set the exact image width / height in CSS.
3. set transform translate to attain level you desire.
4. set margin-bottom so the text lines shift below the image to fill in the excess gap.
5. build your upper 'overbar' into the CSS/Html to fit your needs.

html,
body {
  font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
  font-size: 1em;
  line-height: 1.4;
}

* {
  box-sizing: border-box;
}

.first {
  font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
  font-size: 1em;
  line-height: 1.4;
  margin: 0 0 0 0;
}

.dropcap {
  float: left;
  font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
  font-size: 5em;
  line-height: 1;
  margin-bottom: -0.5em;
  /*-- move margin after moving the image --*/
  margin-right: -0.95em;
  margin-top: -0.1em;

  position: relative;
  /*-- move image up/down --*/
  top: 40%;
  transform: translateY(-40%);
}

.bgi {
  background-image: url("https://i.stack.imgur.com/JlxL1.png");
  z-index: -1;
  background-size: cover;
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-position: center center;

  box-sizing: border-box;
  /*-- set image size --*/
  width: 135px;

  height: 108px;
}

<section>
<p>&nbsp;</p><!--still need to factor in your overbar here-->
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="first"><span class="dropcap bgi"></span>HE IS leaving today. orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam ultrices purus quis justo dictum, non varius lacus tempus. Cras id elementum elit. Quisque dolor arcu, venenatis ut fringilla ut, sodales in nulla. Nullam luctus dapibus nisl sit amet egestas. Ut ac lacus risus. Cras quis accumsan turpis. Duis cursus libero quis laoreet mollis.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam ultrices purus quis justo dictum, non varius lacus tempus. Cras id elementum elit. Quisque dolor arcu, venenatis ut fringilla ut, sodales in nulla. Nullam luctus dapibus nisl sit amet egestas. Ut ac lacus risus. Cras quis accumsan turpis. Duis cursus libero quis laoreet mollis. Nullam ultrices purus quis justo dictum, non varius lacus tempus. Cras id elementum elit. Quisque dolor arcu, venenatis ut fringilla ut, sodales in nulla. Nullam ultrices purus quis justo dictum, non varius lacus tempus. Cras id elementum elit. Quisque dolor arcu, venenatis ut fringilla ut, sodales in nulla. Nullam ultrices purus quis justo dictum, non varius lacus tempus. Cras id elementum elit. Quisque dolor arcu, venenatis ut fringilla ut, sodales in nulla. Quisque dolor arcu, venenatis ut fringilla ut, sodales in nulla.</p>
<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam ultrices purus quis justo dictum, non varius lacus tempus. Cras id elementum elit. Quisque dolor arcu, venenatis ut fringilla ut, sodales in nulla. Nullam luctus dapibus nisl sit amet egestas. Ut ac lacus risus. Cras quis accumsan turpis. Duis cursus libero quis laoreet mollis.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam ultrices purus quis justo dictum, non varius lacus tempus. Cras id elementum elit. Quisque dolor arcu, venenatis ut fringilla ut, sodales in nulla. Nullam luctus dapibus nisl sit amet egestas. Ut ac lacus risus. Cras quis accumsan turpis. Duis cursus libero quis laoreet mollis.</p>
</section>

Answer 2

It's impossible to give specific values since there's no measurements of how the "S" is positioned within the actual image. The following images are used in Example A and in Example B features the new image added to OP using the same technique.

.foreground	.background
Width: 150px Height: 250px	Width: 250px Height: 250px

.foreground is floated and the paragraph's text wraps around it. .background is positioned below everything so that .foreground covers 150px of .background and the text of the paragraph is on top of .background.

The important rulesets are commented in the example

Example A

/*
The font-size on html or :root will be default size for 1rem. 
The values will vary with font-size (2.25ch), font-family, and 
dimensions of image.
*/

html {
  font: 2.25ch/2 "Segoe UI" /* 2 line-height for line spacing */;
}

article {
  margin-top: -250px /* Moves it up the height of the image */;
}

img {
  display: block /* Makes all tags behave uniformly first */;
}

.foreground {
  float: left /* This image sits on top of .background */;
}

.background {
  position: relative /* Takes image out of the normal "flow" */;
  top: 250px /* Moves it down the height of .foreground */;
  z-index: -1 /* Moves it below everything on the z axis */;
}

p {
  padding-top: 135px /* Moves it down so the first line is aligned to "S" */;
}

<article>
  <!-- 250x250px jpg -->
  <img src="https://i.ibb.co/k3hS6rP/sy.jpg" class="background">
  <!-- 150x250px jpg -->
  <img src="https://i.ibb.co/Fs0xtNb/s.jpg" class="foreground">
  <p>HE ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor
    in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>
</article>

Example B

/*
The font-size on html or :root will be default size for 1rem. 
The values will vary with font-size (2.55ch), font-family, and 
dimensions of image.
*/

html {
  font: 2.55ch/1.6 "Segoe UI" /* 1.6 line-height for line spacing */;
}

article {
  margin-top: -12.3rem /* Moves it up the height of the image */;
}

img {
  display: block /* Makes all tags behave uniformly first */;
}

.foreground {
  float: left /* This image sits on top of .background */;
  margin-top: 2.5rem;
}

.background {
  position: relative /* Takes image out of the normal "flow" */;
  top: 12.3rem /* Moves it down the height of .foreground */;
  z-index: -1 /* Moves it below everything on the z axis */;
}

p {
  padding-top: 6.6rem /* Moves it down so the first line is aligned to "S" */;
}

<article>
  <!-- 250x250px jpg -->
  <img src="https://i.ibb.co/dmj8s0J/background.png" class="background">
  <!-- 150x250px jpg -->
  <img src="https://i.ibb.co/gWqt8s4/foreground.png
" class="foreground">
  <p>HE ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor
    in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>
</article>