Business Notes COMIC BOOKS

Jeffrey Montgomery, 25, a California entrepreneur, is often compared with Richie Rich, the towheaded, chubby-cheeked comic-book character. They both have wealthy fathers: Montgomery's is James Montgomery, chief executive of Great Western, a financial-services company. And Jeffrey is just as precocious as Richie. Last month young Montgomery paid $6 million to buy Harvey Publications, which owns the rights to Richie Rich, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Baby Huey and other characters.

Montgomery aims to revive the laggard Harvey, which in the 1940s ranked as the top seller of comic books but last year was in the No. 4 position. Montgomery, who bought the firm from the Harvey family with money he raised from outside investors, aims to boost circulation 50% in the next two years, to 3 million. He is also eager to market the company's library of 248 motion- picture cartoons from the 1950s and '60s, which would be included in a line of videocassettes. Montgomery, who graduated last year from USC's School of Film and Television, plans to start an animation studio as well. Montgomery may be young, but he is following in a tradition: Alfred Harvey was only 26 when he founded the company in 1940.